Introducing Nikki Dalton
by ohsuperstarr
Summary: Nikki Dalton has changed for the better. When she transfers to OCD, she finds herself no longer interested in the single Clairefree Cam. What will she do when she finds HIM liking HER ?
1. They Could Be More

**a/n: disclaimer; i don't own the clique or any of the clique characters.**

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**WESTCHESTER, NY**

**OCD**

**Monday, September 10****th**

**7:49**

Nikki Dalton clung to her notebook tightly. The metal rings dug into her forearm, but she didn't mind. There was no way she could even _think_ about minding. She knew Claire and her friends were near and she knew that there was a big chance of her running into Cam.

She felt so stupid. Last month when her parents told her that she was moving to Westchester, the first thing she could think about was that she finally had a chance with Cam. But then slowly she got her common sense back. There was no way he'd like her when he was already with his _girlfriend_.

Yes, the G-word still pained her.

But the possibility of even being in touching distance of Cam filled her stomach with butterflies. Before going to school, she brushed her hair so many times that her chestnut, red-ish brown hair looked super silky and smooth. Smooth enough for Cam to reach out and run his fingers through it? She doubted it.

She was just about to reach her locker. Her eyes looked down at the little white sheet of paper which the office gave her that contained her schedule, school map, and locker number. _34E_.

She was just about to open it until the locker next to her opened abruptly, hitting her in the face. "That was _so_ not cool—," she began to say.

"Dude, Nikki." The voice from behind the locker door said. It sounded familiar, _way_ to familiar.

"Oh shit." Nikki's jaw dropped. There in all his five-foot-six glory stood Cam. He quickly closed his locker and chuckled a bit. "That was so not funny."

Cam reached his arm out and patted Nikki on the shoulder. "Glad to see you here. Which reminds me, what are you doing here?"

"Parents? I know. I didn't want to go here too." Nikki curled her upper lip in disgust. "I mean, not that OCD is a bad school or anything. It's just that. There's _Claire_ here." She said, saying his girlfriend's name so quietly that it was barely a whisper.

"Claire? What did she do to you? Oh god, did she get your screen name and then stalk you or something? Are you hurt? Did she threaten you?" Cam started rambling, looking at Nikki with concern.

"Cam, what are you talking about." Nikki snorted. "How would Claire get my screen name? I don't even know her. It's just going to be weird going to school here because she thinks I like her boyfriend. I don't. I seriously don't." She added, looking Cam straight in the eye.

"That's unfortunate, because Claire and I broke up. Last year." Cam said, looking down at his Etnies.

"Oh." Nikki formed an _O_ with her mouth. She exhaled slowly and looked up at Cam with a smile. "Okay. Well, I hope we can put everything behind us. Because I have seriously _matured_ over the summer and I'll never be that embarrassingly obsessive ever again." She held out a pinky. "Pinky promise?"

"Uh," Cam hesitated, eyeing Nikki's black nails. "When did you go emo?"

Nikki raised an eyebrow. "Cam, you have to admit. You never really got to know me." She lowered her hand slowly. "Forget the words 'pinky promise' even exited my mouth. Well, I got to get to class." Nikki turned to walk the other way but then stopped when Cam grabbed her arm. "What?" Nikki said, turning around, her face just inches from Cam's.

"You're next class is this way."

"How would you know?" Nikki paused, shaking off his hand.

"Because of your last name, Dalton; the homerooms are alphabetical. You have homeroom with me." Cam explained.

"Oh," Nikki shrugged. What was she expecting, she asked herself. She silently reminded herself over and over again while she walked side-by-side with Cam to class. She was going to convince him and herself that she was over him. They could be friends.

They could be even more.


	2. I'm The Alpha

**WESTCHESTER, NY**

**OCD**

**Monday, September 10****th**

**8:01 am**

"Look who we have here." A voice snidely said. Nikki looked up and found herself staring into the amber eyes of a tall, obviously very full-of-herself brunette. Behind the girl stood a quiet-looking blonde. She played with her wispy bangs and looked like she was trying very hard not to look at Nikki.

"Hi?" Nikki said hesitantly. Who were these two girls and why in the world were they towering over her? She looked at Cam for answers. Cam, who sat in the seat next to her, gave her a nervous glance. Oh, Nikki thought slowly. She pinched herself underneath her desk. How could she be so stupid? The blonde had to be Claire and the brunette? Probably one of her defensive friends.

"You are going to be so sorry you ever moved here." The girl said, shaking her head slowly and narrowing her eyes. Nikki failed to stifle a snort. Who was this girl to try to threaten her? Sure, she was pretty and all, but she looked like she tried way too hard. The girl had put on way too much lip-gloss. It was already forming gooey clumps at the edges of her mouth. And for an eighth grader to be wearing stilettos? It was like looking into the eyes of a mini-adult. "I'm _nawt_ kidding." And not only did she look like a valley girl, she spoke like one too. Truth be told. Always judge a book by its cover.

"I can tell," Nikki replied calmly. "I'm Nikki Dalton. And you are?"

"Massie Block." Massie rolled her eyes. "And this is Kuh-laire. You know, the girl you were oh-so-envious of?"

Nikki thought about what to say to Claire. She didn't hate her. She couldn't. Claire just looked way too timid and helpless to hate. Actually, Nikki found herself pitying Claire. "Hello Claire," Nikki said, trying to sound as nice and sincere as possible.

"Yaw, so like, don't even try to do anything to Kuh-laire because I'm watching you." Massie sneered, flipping her wavy hair over her shoulder. "I'm the alpha and you're the zeta, just watch me."

Once again, Nikki looked at Cam for help.

"Block, leave her alone." Cam said quietly.

"Cam…" Claire started to whimper.

"Leave it," Massie said, grabbing Claire's wrist. "They're both LBR's. Plus, we're the New Pretty Committee. And there's no way I'm giving up on this boy-fast."

"Massie…" Claire begged under her breath. Massie ignored Claire and sat down in the seat that was in the very center of the room. Claire sat down next to her, which was also the seat right behind Nikki. Out of the corner of her eye, Nikki saw Massie pull out her cell phone and wave it around. Three other girls—including a redhead, a sporty-looking brunette, and Claire—pulled out their cell phones and began texting underneath their desks.

Nikki sat back in my seat and looked at Cam gratefully. He, after all, had saved her from the _evil wraths_ of Massie Block. All of a sudden, she felt her cell phone vibrate. She took it out of my pocket and read the text.

**CamFisher: **Be careful. Massie means what she says.

**NikkiDalton: **I can protect myself, but thanks.


	3. Why The Mixed Emotions?

**WESTCHESTER, NY**

**OCD Bomb Shelter**

**Monday, September 10****th**

**12:31 pm**

"You didn't have to be that mean to Nikki. She never did anything wrong." Claire pointed out, biting her pinky nail. She sank in the plush pink sofa.

"Yes she did. She's the reason why you and Cam aren't together anymore. And with that reason alone, she's nawt welcome. We, The Pretty Committee, care about you, Kuh-laire, so we're going to do something about her." Massie said evenly. She flipped the TV on. "ESP time, anyone?"

"I don't care anymore." Claire said in a muffled tone, talking into a fluffy throw pillow.

"Mass, she has a point." Alicia said, uncrossing her legs and taking a sip of her freshly-brewed cappuccino. "The boy-fast is still awn. So why does it matter what the boys are thinking? They're all so dead to me."

"Even Josh Hotz?" Massie rolled her eyes. "I doubt it. Plus, their ESP class moved to Ms. Sharpe's old class. Turns out they still have the teddy bear."

The television's screen flickered for a bit and then focused on a t-shirt logo. _Quicksilver_, Claire thought. _Must be Cam_.

"Tell the class how you felt when you first saw Nikki at school today!" Derrick shouted.

"Derrick, it's not your turn." Dr. Loni said in his Dr. Phil-voice. "But yes, Cam, please share how you felt when you first saw Nikki."

Cam's hand tugged at his shirt a bit before clearing his throat. "Well, I was surprised at first. And then I was amused. And then I was confused."

"Why the mixed emotions?" Dr. Loni asked.

"Well," Cam started to say. "I haven't seen her in a while and I guess she changed. She used to be kind of insecure and a bit immature. But when I saw her today and talked to her, she seemed way more confident. And she wasn't annoying like she was before. She was more of a real person. She's not like I remembered."

"But as you said last year, you never really got to know her. And she never really got to know you. She just started liking you and sending you candy." Dr. Lonicommented.

"Yeah, so I guess I kind of hope that I'll get to know her better. Because she seems cool—" The screen immediately went black. Massie's eyes darted towards Claire, who stood next to the TV, her finger right above the power button.

"Kuh-laire!" Massie shouted. "Why'd you do that?"

"Massie, Claire's taking it hard." Kristen said softly.

Claire wiped away an imaginary tear with the back of her wrist. "Can we get back to the cafeteria?"

"And run into Derrick and Nikki sitting together sharing a smoothie?" Dylan blurted, but then put her hand over her mouth. "Sorry. Crash-diet's making me cranky."

"I'm not afraid of that." Claire lied. "I just need air."

"Course you do," Massie said, tugging at her Tiffany & Co charm bracelet. She was unconvinced. Claire seemed to be feeling sorry for Nikki. Well, Massie thought differently. She was supposed to be a good friend and a good friend would never let a girl like Nikki get away. "Fine," Massie muttered. "Let's go back. But I swear, I'm not through with her."

"Me neither. Kuh-laire, we've got your back." Alicia chirped.

Claire wanted to protest. She didn't need anyone watching her back. She didn't need anyone planning revenge on this Nikki girl. All she wanted was everything to be forgotten and everything to go back to normal.

_This is the Pretty Committee_, she thought bitterly. _I have no say over anything._


	4. How Ironic

**WESTCHESTER, NY**

**Briarwood Soccer Stadium**

**Monday, September 10****th**

**4:48 pm**

"Hey," A voice said after tapping Nikki twice on the shoulder. Nikki turned around and saw it was Claire. Nikki tied her hair up and patted the empty space next to her. Claire hesitantly sat down. "Um, I'm not supposed to be here."

"Why not?" Nikki asked, tilting her head to the side. She raised an eyebrow. Was Massie forbidding everyone from talking to her or something?

"Well, you see, Massie…" Nikki rolled her eyes. Claire laughed and then continued. "She's overprotective. She's just trying to be a good friend." Claire looked down before continuing. She played around with her white-blond bangs. "I just feel guilty."

"It's okay. I'm not afraid of Massie." Nikki said. Well, it was the truth.

"I am," Claire said. She didn't even know why she was telling Nikki all of this. For some reason, she felt like she could relate. When she first came to OCD, she had a tough time with Massie. And they both have a certain green-and-blue-eyed boy in common too. "Cam and I broke up. So there's no reason why you should hold back. Because I think he likes you." Claire said with a sigh.

"I don't like him." Nikki quickly said. "Um, I don't know if I'm allowed to ask this, but I'm just wondering why you two broke up. I mean, you guys just seemed really perfect."

"Yeah, I thought so." Claire said, tucking a stray stand of hair behind her ear. "I snooped. I dug through his backpack and found a printed-out AIM conversation between you two. I freaked out. End of story. He never forgave me."

"Well that's a sucky way to end things." Nikki commented. She looked at the soccer game and feigned interest. The only reason why she even came was because Cam invited her. She didn't want to be mean, but she felt as though she had way better things to do that sit on muddy bleachers and watch a soccer game. Derrick Herrington, the soccer goalie, wiggled his butt after he saved yet another goal.

"Yeah, sorry if I'm like, pouring my heart out right now." Claire said. "You're just way easier to confide to than anyone else. Strange, isn't it? A month ago, I hated you."

"You didn't know me a month ago." Nikki pointed out. "Don't be quick to judge, Claire."

"Yeah, I know that now." Claire frowned. "Oh god, Massie's coming!" Claire yelped, ducking behind Nikki and then making her way along the bleachers, still crouching.

Nikki looked back down at the game. It had already ended. The boys were carrying Derrick on their shoulders. Cam was walking next to the big celebratory bunch. He looked at the stands to find her. When he caught Nikki's eye, he waved.

Nikki waved back limply.

She felt sorry for Claire. She had just met her a few minutes ago. Claire was easily likeable. She was sincere, unlike the other girls that she seemed to hang out with. Which made Nikki wonder: why did Claire even bother to hang out with Massie? Nikki didn't see what the big deal with The Pretty Committee was. The looked like normal people who went through normal things and had normal problems just like everyone else. They just did a better job of hiding it.

"Nikki! Did you see my goal?" Cam said, appearing out of nowhere. He sat down next to Nikki and didn't bother hiding his enormous smile. "That was awesome. I love soccer. I love the feeling when you have the ball and you're running around and everyone's chasing you."

Nikki laughed. "So you like being chased?"

"Well, not all the time," Cam said, raising an eyebrow and looking at her. He looked embarrassed and then looked down at his lap. "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by that."

"Don't worry. All that is like, way behind us," Nikki said, waving her hand around to dismiss the topic. "Can I ask you something?"

Cam's eyes widened. "Go ahead."

"What's the big deal with Massie?" Nikki sighed. She looked down. Cam let out a disappointed sigh. "What?" Nikki scrunched up her nose.

"Oh! Nothing," Cam's voice cracked. "Uh, Massie is just really intimidating and she's really good at acting like everything about her is perfect. So I guess that just makes me a really good alpha."

"Oh," Nikki put on her thoughtful face. "That's retarded. People should be more open."

"Uh, more open?" Cam said, clearing his throat and yanking at his collar.

"Yeah, like, people shouldn't be afraid to express how they really feel and stuff. I hate it when people hide everything. It's not like anyone's going to blame them for not being perfect. No one is." Nikki said, crossing her legs and propped her chin up her fists. "You know?" She started right across the field.

Cam studied her. _She's deep_, he thought. _Well, kind of_. "I guess."

"Yeah, glad you're not like that." Nikki grinned, standing up. "Well, see you later!"

"Later," Cam said softly. He couldn't help noticing how green Nikki's eyes looked. Then he remembered how blue Claire's were. Blue. Green. How ironic.


	5. Expecting Pity

**A/N: **sorry for not updating sooner ! it's just that i've been super busy with life--yes, because i have a life--and cowriting SEE YOU AGAIN with diana. it's my number one priority on fanfic. anyhoo. sorry to keep you guys waiting !

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**WESTCHESTER, NY**

**Massie's Room**

**Monday, September 10****th**

**7:34 pm**

"Girls," Massie started to say, sticking her hand out and fanning her face as though her room was unbearably hot. Obviously it wasn't since that's what Inez was for. "Let's get rid of her ah-sap." She, and the other members of the Pretty Committee, turned their heads to Claire as though she had all the answers.

Claire's eyes widened and she sat up straighter. She shrugged and lifted her hands up in confusion. "Don't look at me. I'm not the one that knows how to get rid of people." She blew her bangs out of her face and looked over at Alicia who was sitting cross-legged on Massie's king-sized bed and was filing her nails.

Alicia looked up and let out a long sigh. She waved her nail filer around like a white surrendering-flag and turned to Massie. "You're the alpha; all we do is listen to you." Massie narrowed her amber eyes. "Nawt kidding," Alicia added diligently.

"Who votes Nikki out of our lives?" Massie asked. Alicia, Kristen, and Dylan's hands shot up in the air at once. Massie pointed her Prada-covered feet, stretched her legs out a bit, and looked up. "One, two, three, four," She said, counting herself. She looked at Claire with impatience. "Kuh-laire? It doesn't take much brain cells to be able to raise your hand when necessary."

Claire tugged at the sleeve of her Gap sweater. "Well I don't want Cam to be heartbroken…" She looked to her right to avoid eye contact with Massie's pressuring glare.

"He's ahb-viously missing you enough to go a bit crazy." Massie said, circling the air around her ear with her finger with crazy written all over her face. Claire looked down and tugged at the hem of her Levi jeans. "Are you calling Dr. Laura?"

Claire looked up, confused. "No?"

"Then why are you expecting pity?" Massie said, flinching at the lack of catchiness her phrase had just sounded. Seriously, everything sounds better in your head. "How about you call him?" Massie suggested.

Claire looked up at Massie as though she had lost her mind.

"What?" Massie asked, toying around with a tendril of her wavy hair. "He talked to you today at school. Doesn't that mean it's working out?"

"We'll call for you," Kristen offered. She pulled out her scratched-up Razr and shook it in the air. "We can use 67 so he won't know who's calling him."

"I'll dial!" Dylan jumped up from Massie's chaise and snatched Kristen's pink phone from her hand. Dylan quickly dialed Cam's number as though she memorized it. Massie looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Suspicious? She let it slide and sat back in her chair to watch the drama unfold.

"Hello?" Cam's voice answered.

"Hey," Dylan said, automatically pressing speaker so everyone could hear.

"Is that your mommy, Cammy Fisher?" Derrington's voice was heard in the background. "Are you past your curfew already?" Derrington snickered.

"Shut up," Cam said to Derrington. He cleared his throat and said into the receiver. "Uh, who's this?"

"It's Mass," Massie called from her seat. "Sorry for today. I don't know why I felt so defensive and just had to pounce on Nikki."

"Uh, it's cool," Cam answered. "Who else is there?"

"Alicia," The Spanish beauty said.

"Me," Dylan called out. "It's Dyl—"

"Pickle," Kristen interrupted. Everyone looked at her strangely. "Get it? Dill pickle?" She rolled her eyes and snorted. "Tough crowd."

"Kristen?" Cam guessed.

"Yup, that's me." Kristen said cheerfully.

"Is Massie there?" They heard Derrington ask in the background. Cam didn't say anything back so they assumed that he nodded. "Massie? If you're there, I want you to know that I'm sorry and—"

"Uh, Massie?" Cam interrupted. They heard Derrington make an _oomph_ which obviously meant Cam shoved him out of the day. "If the rest of your friends are there, does that mean Claire's there too?"

"I'm here." Claire sighed. "It wasn't my idea to call, just by the way."

"Yeah…" Cam paused. "I got to go."

"Mmkay," Massie murmured. "Bye!"

"Bye Massie. Kristen. Alicia. And uh, Dill Pickle," Cam said before hanging up. Dylan flipped the cell phone closed and handed it to Kristen. They sat in a moment of silence. Massie swung her legs around and accidentally made a thud when her knee hit her desk.

"Ow," Massie groaned.

"He didn't even say good-bye to me!" Claire wailed before storming out of the room and slamming Massie's door.


	6. Just Signed Your Death Wish

**WESTCHESTER, NY**

**OCD**

**Tuesday, September 11****th**

**7:41 am**

Nikki sucked her stomach in as she passed by the Pretty Committee. From the corner of her eye, she could see Massie leaning in to whisper something into Dylan's ear. Obviously, it was something caustic. Nikki watched as Dylan threw her head back and laughed loudly. Nikki looked down at her Lanvin ballet flats. Were they too out of season? When she looked at the Pretty Committee again, Massie just laughed harder and gave Nikki a smirk. What was so funny about the shoes her mom had just got for her yesterday from her trip to New York City?

Massie walked over, taking her precious time to make sure that her freshly-curled brown hair bounced in the perfect rhythm and her side-bangs stayed in their perfect position. "Hey, Nikki," Massie faked a smile, jutting her hip out to one side and placing her hand swiftly onto her hip. "So sorry for yesterday, what was thinking, being so mean to a new student?"

Nikki opened her mouth to answer, but Massie just waved her away. "That wasn't a question. It was totally rhetorical." Massie's eyes glided down to Nikki's beige-colored shoes. This time, Massie was the one hesitant to speak. "Where'd you get those?"

"My mom got them at Barney's yesterday." Nikki said, taking a chance and staring straight into Massie's amber eyes. _Not so intimidating anymore, are you?_ Nikki wanted to shout.

"I thought so," Massie's mouth erupted into a sneer. "But the next time you try to pull something as classic as Lanvin flats, you better remember that anything that's on sale is never a classic."

Nikki furrowed her brows. "Huh?" Nikki couldn't help but sound confused. What was she talking about? How would she know if they were on sale or not? "What are you talking about?" Nikki asked slowly.

"Don't act like you don't know." Massie snapped. "I saw them while I was shopping online. They were, like, forty percent off. Do you know how cheap that would be? My mom doesn't look for bargain sales." Massie said proudly.

Nikki held her breath as she scanned Massie Block's outfit to see if there was anything wrong with it. Of course, there was nothing wrong with it. Nikki narrowed her eyes. Getting even with a girl with everything—or so it seemed—was going to be hard. "Are you a scientist?"

"No," Massie scrunched up her nose. She must have been imagining herself as one. To Massie Block, that might have been classified under "nerd jobs".

"Then why are you being so observant?" Nikki said. She back down and let her arms fall limply to her sides. Did she just have to sound so stupid?

"What are you tawking about?" Massie rolled her eyes, smacking her gum once. "Seriously, that was the dumbest wannabe Massie-joke ever. I created those disses and just watching you ruin them was absolutely horrifying." She said, shuddering at the thought. "All I wanted to do was give you some tips and precautions about your outfit. Gawd, the nerve of some people," Massie added, walking back to Dylan and Kristen who were huddled together laughing. Alicia and Claire must have been somewhere else.

"Later," Nikki said faintly. She shook her head as though she was trying to erase the memory from her head. She looked down at the floor numbly.

**Reminder: Make some friends.** She noted in her head.

"Earth to Nikki?" Cam said, putting his hand on Nikki's head to stop her from walking into him. "You almost walked into me."

Nikki stood straight up and forced herself to smile. _Might as well not act pathetic and expect pity from everyone_, she thought. _Dignity my dear_, she reminded herself. "Hey." Nikki said, looking around for an excuse for not paying attention to where she was going. "Uh, I… have a dentist appointment after school?"

"That's great." Cam let out a little chuckle. "And you're telling me this why"

"Uh," Nikki stalled. "Because I assumed you would ask anyways?" She guessed.

"Maybe," Cam said, side-glancing at Nikki. "C'mon, I'll walk you to class." He suggested, swinging his right arm around her shoulder. She looked up at him awkwardly. "Friend," Cam added.

"What?"

"Never mind," Cam said hastily, taking his arm off of Nikki. Nikki smiled and then looked to her other side. That's when she made eye contact with Claire. _Sorry_, Nikki mouthed, pouting so Claire could see how sincere she was being. But then Massie stepped in between them and glared at Nikki. She made a slicing motion right in front of her neck with her finger and stuck her tongue out. Nikki couldn't help but gulp. _You just signed your death wish_, Massie mouthed.


	7. Pure Satisfaction

**a/n: **sorry for not updating soon :X it's just that i've been busy studying for the SAT's. ugh, hate them ! (yeah, yeah, i know, what's a eighth grader doing taking the SAT'S?) it's what comes with having asian parents. anyhoo. i'll TRY to update again soon. but school starts in two days and then i'm busy for the next few weeks. california adventures for cjsf. jonas brothers concert ? haha, i know. life's hard :D

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**Octavian County Day**

**Bathroom**

**Tuesday, September 11****th**

**7:47 am**

"I officially say she's dead," Massie scoffed, twirling her wavy brown hair carefully. There was no way she was going to mess her hair up. The only good mirror in the entire school—not including her own locker one—was in her ex-favorite bathroom. It wasn't her favorite anymore since it was occupied by boys now. Uh, ew? Massie put her appearance before everything else, but maintaining sanity and not flouncing into the boy's bathroom was just a bit more important.

Massie turned away from the mirror and leaned on the sink. She scanned her whole crew through narrowed eyes. "Don't you think?" She tilted her head as though she was deep in though. "I just wish I could cut off her supply of oxygen or, like, her blood flow. You know?"

"I don't remember Cam putting his arm around me," Claire's eyes got bigger; she looked at her palm-facing-upwards hands in despair. "What have I done?" She was _this_ close to sinking to the ground, curling up into a ball, and rolling all the way back to Florida.

"Buh-reathe, Kuh-laire," Massie's amber eyes flickered in annoyance.

"Three minutes until bell rings," Kristen looked down at her watch.

Alicia rolled her eyes and made her way to the bathroom door, pushing it open just a crack. "Well? Let's go." She said, leaning on the door just a bit so it stayed open.

Massie raised an eyebrow. She was always the one to say where and when they were going somewhere. Ever since Alicia had tried to steal her alpha spot back in November of last year, she had been keeping a very close eye on her beta. "Ahem?" Massie cleared her throat.

Alicia's eyes widened. She didn't exactly realize how un-beta-like she just seemed. "I mean," she tried to correct herself, "Mass? Uh…" She looked up at the ceiling as though it contained all the answers.

"Come awn, guys," Massie said, finally deciding that Alicia learned her lesson and would never make that mistake again. Massie ignore Alicia and pushed the door open more so she could get out of the bathroom. She needed fresh air and bathroom fumes? Not so much.

Right when she stepped out, Massie was practically attacked by a knobby-kneed boy. "Watch it," Massie almost said. But then once she saw who it was, she became speechless.

"Block," Derrick approached her slowly. Once he was less than one foot away from her, he stopped moving. It may have looked like he was positioning himself for ballet (his feet were in first position), but it was actually just incase he had to make a quick exit. Massie was unpredictable, and even in the crowded hallways of school, there was a slight chance that she might throw the small bottle of Chanel N°5 that she always kept in her purse at him. Sure, he had been through a lot in his short lifetime so far, but getting flowery perfume in his eyes? Something he could live without.

"Harrington," Massie regained her composure and addressed him with the same coldness she would have with any LBR. She was secretly thrilled that he actually looked nervous. "What do you want?" She kept eye contact, knowing that if she looked somewhere else, she might seem uneasy. She tried not to even move as the rest of The Pretty Committee filed out of the bathroom and started giggling and walking away slowly so they wouldn't disturb Massie and Derrick's little stare-down.

Derrick opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again. He looked a bit defeated. His arms drooped lower and he sighed. "I just wanted to know how you and Chris are."

Massie's cool stare remained unchanged but on the inside her heart was pounding. How could a guy get over her _that_ fast? She expected him to fall to his knees and beg her to take him back. Then again, she was immature to him. Wasn't she? Well, then she would just have to show him how wrong he was. "Why couldn't you just ask him? He is a sophomore." Massie couldn't help but smirk.

_Yeah, that's right, Derrick, I'm going out with a sophomore. Immature people don't go out with sophomores_, Massie thought.

"I thought you knew everything about guys," Derrick looked smug.

"What are you tawking about?" Massie rolled her eyes.

"Well, I remember getting this chain-mail in my inbox a few months ago," Derrick continued. "_101 things that you didn't know about guys_," Derrick tilted his head. "Some of them were oddly accurate."

"What's your point?" Massie sighed, getting a bit impatient.

"Well, I don't talk to Chris Abeley. Because the last time I checked, Number 24 of the list: Guys hate gays," Derrick informed her, feigning innocence. "Plus, I didn't know Chris swung your way!"

"Oh puh-lease," Massie laughed coldly. "You know what they say."

"What?" Derrick looked confused. He was expecting Massie to let out a shriek and then storm away to her homeroom. But she looked…happy? Oh wait, Derrick knew that smile.

"Derrick Harrington makes all the gay guys go straight."

_It was the smile of pure satisfaction._


	8. Introducing: Ogre

**a/n:** muahaha. two chapters in one day. i know this one's a bit short. but you know what they say ! don't judge a book by it's cover. unless the book has no cover. such as this one. :(

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**Cafeteria**

**Table 18 **

**Tuesday, September 11****th**

**12:32 pm**

"Tell me about it," Dylan said, leaning in more so they could finally get into the gossiping-about-boys position. It had been a while since anyone had any good news to talk about concerning guys. The pig pictures had stopped for Dylan. They got old pretty fast. Now the guys were just ignoring her. Kristen had lost all respect for guys wearing tight pants. Alicia was trying the hardest she could to keep away from Josh. His prized hat was still stashed away somewhere in her room. She wasn't going to risk getting thrown out of The Pretty Committee for a guy.

_Hoes before Bros, right?_

Massie scowled, forgetting for a minute that it could cost her a wrinkle-free face in thirty years. "Don't worry; I'm not breaking the boy-fast for _him_."

"I remember you told Derrick that you were going out with Chris," Claire pointed out. It was probably the first time in days she said anything that didn't concern Nikki or Cam or even the possibility of Cam and Nikki being together.

"Point," Alicia gasped. "Ehmagod, first time for Kuh-laire. How do you feel?" Alicia sniggered, flipping her hair over her left shoulder.

Massie ignored Alicia. Instead, she blushed a little. Well, she did lie to Derrick about that. She wasn't exactly going out with Chris. He had never actually asked her out. But he _did_ say he liked her. Did that make them unofficially going out? "Well, I'm nawt going out with Chris. I just played along. Derrick was the one who brought it up."

"Four-letter word for correct," Kristen nodded.

"That's _true_," Dylan said, looking at Kristen for approval. Kristen gave her a slight nod. Dylan punched her fist in the air. "Yesssss! Point one for Dill Pickle."

"I'm keeping the points," Alicia pointed out. (A/N: LOL. Points. Pointed out. Sorry. I just had to POINT THAT OUT. Hahahahaha)

"Anyways," Claire spoke a little louder to be heard over Dylan's random cheers and whoops. "I think you were using Chris to make Derrick jealous."

"Me? Using someone? I would never do that," Massie looked aghast. The four other members of the clique tried to stifle their laughs. Massie tried to pretend she didn't notice her friends' lack of support. But then an idea came into her head. "Claire, you still want Cam, right?"

Claire looked up. _Gee, that was unexpected._ "Um, yeah, why not?" Claire grinned, deciding to go along with whatever Massie had up her sleeve—Elizabeth & James cardigan-clad sleeves, that is.

"And all of you guys want to get revenge on the guys, right?" Massie said through clenched teeth. She loved the little adrenaline rush that she got when she came up with a brilliant idea.

"Josh never did anything to me," Alicia chirped. Massie shot her a look. "But I'm willing to help crush the other guys," Alicia added, sinking down in her chair just a tiny bit to hide from Massie's glare.

"And we will crush _anyone_ who is in our way, right?" Massie started smiling nobly, a look of determination on her face. "And that includes Nikki Dalton."

All of a sudden, Claire felt unsure about this. She would love to take part in a plan that got her back her boyfriend. But hurt people emotionally? This, she couldn't bear watch.

"I'll call it Operation GR." Massie said. "Or OGR, pronounced ogre."

"Operation Girls Rule?" Kristen took a guess.

"Ew, of course not," Massie shook her head. "That's hopelessly cliché. We're _real_ feminist here. We're not going to resort to desperate measures by burning bras to make a statement. Our statement will be loud and heard across the world."

"So what does it stand for?" Alicia was almost afraid to ask.

Massie answered with only two words. Two words that made a phrase that was so nauseatingly sweet to those who loved to settle things the _right_ way, and the _only_ way according to Massie Block.

"Get Revenge."


	9. It's Better To Have Loved & Lost

**OCD**

**Hallways**

**Tuesday, September 11****th**

**12:53 pm**

"So what's the plan exactly?" Kristen asked after they exited the cafeteria and began making their way to their lockers to gather up their stuff for the next class. Their lockers were right next to each other, the way it was supposed to be. It wasn't luck. It was more like Massie, Alicia, and Dylan bribing other students to switch lockers. Now their lockers were perfect—not far from anyone's classes, a corner away from the girl's bathroom, and just across from Nikki's locker where Massie decided she could keep a good eye on her.

Speaking of Nikki, Massie was in full plan-making-mode. Her eyes were narrowed into a focused glare as she walked down the hallway in the middle of all her friends, a song playing in her head to keep her walking tempo even.

Only problem was she didn't exactly know what the plan was.

"You'll see."

* * *

Nikki looked at her lunch glumly. The only edible thing in the OCD cafeteria seemed to be the salad. But as she looked down at her meal, it seemed far from healthy. Drizzled with a thick helping of creamy Ranch dressing and even a dollop of French dressing, topped with egg, cheddar cheese, cucumber slices, and a hearty amount of bacon bits, her Caesar salad looked way different from the Massie's of OCD. As she scanned around the cafeteria, all she saw were various stick-thin girls munching on iceberg lettuce with a tiny helping of balsamic vinaigrette on the _side_.

At least she felt in place with the guys. Cam had invited her to sit at his table. But the rest of his friends ignored her as they made conversation over their greasy hamburgers.

"Where's Josh?"

"With Alicia probably."

"No, she's currently ignoring him."

"Ha, ha, I knew Josh didn't have any game."

"Are you saying you do?"

"Ouch."

"So, Tiki—"

"It's Nikki," Nikki looked up quickly and shot Kemp a dirty look. Where the hell did he get _Tiki_?

"Yeah, Nicole, whatever," Kemp rolled his eyes and stuffed his face with fries before talking again—not even bothering to swallow first. "Are you Cam's new Claire or something?"

That made Cam start to choke. He quickly grabbed his bottle of coke and took a long sip before looking at Kemp incredulously. "What would make you think that?" His usually tan face drained of color.

"Well, Claire never sat at our table," Kemp shrugged.

Derrick Harrington started laughing. "You're such an idiot. That's because we went to different schools back then when our wittle Cammy Wammy was still going out with Lyons."

"Still," Kemp protested, looking back at Nikki again. "So, do you like our little Cammy, Nilly?"

"It's Nikki," She reminded him _again_. Obviously he wasn't exactly the smartest one in the bunch.

"Hey, the chick didn't answer Kemp's question," Derrick fake-gasped. "She's avoiding confrontation."

"That sucks," Plovert laughed. "It's okay, Cam. Maybe this girl just isn't your type." Well, it _was_ the truth. Deep down, Plovert was already thinking that he and Nikki would look pretty cute together. She wasn't afraid to eat in front of guys, but not once did she burp like Dylan.

But this caused Nikki to whip her head around and look at Cam with wide eyes. "Since when did you have a type?"

"He doesn't," Griffin, who remained quiet all this time, finally spoke up. He took out his earphones (causing the whole cafeteria to listen to a deprived man screaming _kill me, baby! kill me, baby!_) and added, "Nik, he's just trying to seem mysterious because he wants you to want him _bad_. He needed someone to replace Claire anyways." Then Griffin put his earphones on again and gave Cam an annoyed look. Hello? Mysteriousness? That was _so_ his thing.

"Shut up," Cam said, narrowing his eyes and glaring at Griffin. An air of silence took over at the table. Well, until someone spoke up.

"So Tiki—"

"It's Nikki!" The whole cafeteria turned to stare as the redhead pushed the seat back, stood up, and stomped out of the cafeteria.

And then everyone turned to _aw _when they saw a certain dark-haired boy jumping out of his seat to chase her.

* * *

"So, you're saying that you don't have a clue what we're going to do," Alicia raised an eyebrow. She used both hands to tug at the hem of her miniskirt so it actually covered _some_ leg.

"Well, I have a faint idea," Massie shrugged, opening her locker to check in the mirror for any food that might be stuck in her perfectly-straight teeth. "And does it really matter? Any good actress knows how to improvise."

"Since when were you an actress?" Claire demanded, being the closest thing to an actress ever since Dial L for Loser.

"Well, I was on TV." Massie said, shutting the locker door and turning back to her friends. "Point is, you can't rush art."

"So now you're an artist," Claire rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm making history," Massie smiled smugly.

Claire was about to open her mouth and say, "Oh so now you're also a historian" but was rudely cut off by two people power-walking down a hallway and shouting at each other as though no one else in the whole hallway could hear.

"You couldn't even just defend me in front of your friends. You just had to deny everything and make it seem like going out with me is the worst thing that could happen to you!" The girl shouted, not bothering to turn around to see the boy's pleading-expression.

"Don't listen to them, they don't know anything!"

"Oh _please_, they seemed to know very well about how you and Claire were so perfect together."

Claire winced at the sound of her name. They way Nikki had said it made it seem vulgar or even illegal.

"You can never replace Claire!" Cam shouted.

"Oh, that made me feel _so_ much better, Fisher."

"No, I mean, you can't replace her because she wasn't even special to me." Cam said, without even thinking about how mushy and lovey-dovey he just sounded. For Nikki? He would even sound gay for her.

At least it got Nikki to stop moving. The only problem was, the place she stopped was right in front of TPC's lockers.

"Save it," Nikki turned around and glared at him. "Go back to Claire, and then at least your friends will feel better."

"Go out with me," Cam finally blurted out.

"In your dreams," Nikki shot back, looking absolutely disgusted.

She didn't like Cam. She had _never_ liked Cam all this time. He was the reason why Claire and her friends hated her. He had the nerve to break a girl's heart and ask out another girl right in front of her. And he was the reason why she didn't start OCD with a clean slate.

She quickly shook her head at Cam, looking very disappointed in him before rushing off to her next class.

Massie felt a rush of excitement as she leaned over to whisper in Claire's ear.

_"Stage one: complete." _

Sure, it's not like it was _her_ that prevented Nikki from going out with Cam. But obviously she'd take full credit so the rest of The Pretty Committee would look at her in awe and inspiration. The most important part was that Nikki just made it one step easier for Massie to get what she wanted.

Revenge, duh.


	10. Welcome to TPC

**OCD**

**Girl's Bathroom**

**Wednesday, September 12****th**

**7:56 am**

Nikki sighed, placing her hand onto her barely-there hips and studied herself in the bathroom's full-length mirror. What a _bore_, she thought, frowning glumly. And to add to her discomfort, it was raining. Sure, she wasn't like the other girls at school who ran around screaming, "Ewh, my hair! Ehmagod, I have to call _enter French or Italian name here_ for an after school appointment! This is a total drab!" And then their friends would agree in chorus adding, "Totally!"

Of course, Nikki wasn't exactly concerned with her hair (though it was barely wet, still glistened in that it's-so-silky-and-shiny-but-not-oily way, and fell into soft curls on her shoulders), but it was actually her outfit. She wasn't exactly sure if her white Milly crochet baby-doll top made her look skinnier or fatter or _worse_, flatter. Her black Bermuda shorts emphasized her long legs—score one for her, Nikki thought silently. Her red Lori patent sandals added a splash of color and matched well with the patent red headband which pushed back her also brownish-red curls.

Yup, Nikki was pulling a Massie. She was actually caring about what other people thought about her appearance. But last night when she was updating her blog, she decided that if she was going to survive here, she was going to have to make some friends. And she was not settling for some random, no-name D-list group. Now that she didn't have anything to do with Cam, she could be friends with The Pretty Committee, couldn't she? Plus, she was pretty sure that Claire was okay with her by now.

Random girls were passing in and out of the bathroom, shoving her aside for final lip-gloss checks or checking to see if they had (gasp, Gawd forbid) mascara clumps. She finally had enough. She turned to the girl who had just shoved her and twirled her around with one finger. "Excuse me?" Nikki asked.

"Wha-at?" The girl whined, pouting. "I was just reapplying my lip-gloss!" She protested. "You've been hogging that mirror for over four minutes."

Nikki ignored her. She was only asking for her opinion. She looked like a wannabe, wearing the exact same outfit Alicia was wearing the day before. "Does this look alright?" Nikki asked, motioning towards her outfit.

The blonde scrunched up her nose, her glossy lips turned down in a frown. "I guess, but it's too frilly for my taste. Or Alicia Rivera's taste. Because, like, Alicia and I have, like, the exact same taste. You know? We both just luh-v Ralph and anything totally clean cut!"

"What about Massie's taste?" Nikki hesitated to ask, but did so anyways.

"Massie's taste?" The girl repeated, tilting her head and seriously thinking for a minute. "It's cute, I guess, if you're trying to impress Massie. But ever since Alicia tried to start her own clique last year, I was hoping to get in. You know? And now her clique is like, gone, but if she ever makes a clique again, I'm hoping to be apart of it. I'm way prettier than Olivia, don't you think?"

"Who?" Nikki squinted.

"Nev-uh-mind!" The girl huffed. "You're ahb-viously an outsider."

"Uh, yeah." Nikki awkwardly agreed. "I guess I'm an outsider."

_But not for long._

_----------------------------------------_

Cam peeked with his blue eye down the hall. His dark bangs covered the other while he searched if the coast was clear. "Derrick, let's go."

"Go?" Derrick scrunched together his eyebrows. "Go where? Go OUT? Ha—"

"No!" Cam glared at him. "Massie is standing there _alone_ without the rest of her group which is so rare and now's your chance. You said you wanted my help with Massie when you called me after school and since obviously Nikki and I have no chance what-so-ever—"

"Not my fault that all the guys kept on bringing up Claire. Kemp started it." Derrick protested, shoving his hands into the pockets of his tan cargo shorts.

"So if Kemp started looking under girl's skirts and takes pictures with his phone—which he already does—would you also follow along?" Cam shot Derrick an incredulous look.

"Wait, he _does_?" Derrick asked, his eyes widening. "Dude! He's never shown me the pictures. Hold on!" Derrick quickly said, whipping out his cell phone and quickly dialing Kemp's number. "Yo, KEMP! You got to send me those pictures! NOW!"

"Derrick…" Cam muttered.

_----------------------------------------_

"So let me get this straight, you want to talk to me?" Massie peered at Nikki, looking a bit suspicious. Alicia, Kristen, and Dylan _mhmm_-ed in agreement. Claire just stood there frowning, looking at the floor.

"Well, the reason why you guys weren't exactly _friendly_ to me was because of Cam, right? And I am so over liking that boy. I don't even want anything to do with him," Nikki explained. "So I just thought it would be the mature, _bigger_ person thing to do to get things sorted out properly."

"Well, you do make a point," Massie sighed. This Nikki girl hit a sore spot. If she continued being mean to this girl, wouldn't that make her immature? And the last thing Massie Block was is immature. She felt as though she had no choice but to agree. "Fine, but you're not a GLU yet."

"Glue?" Nikki raised an eyebrow.

Massie rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed by Nikki's lack-of-knowledge. Even though Massie clearly detested this girl and wanted to ruin her, she couldn't help but feel a bit worried. Even though she sometimes pretended to be, Massie was no Duh-livia. She was smart and she knew to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. "Girls. Like. Us." Massie said slowly, half-expecting Nikki to not comprehend.

"Oh, cool, love the code words," Nikki blinked.

Massie inhaled deeply. She knew that if she didn't let Nikki into her clique, then Nikki would go on and ruin everything. She would become popular because, just _look_ at her. She was prettier than Alicia, probably wittier than Massie, and she got along with the guys. Girls would be flocking her to ask her for advice. The only way to make sure she wasn't that cool was to make her apart of Massie's posse. That way, people would take one glance at Nikki and think, _oh_ another Massie slave instead of thinking _who is that new girl and why is she getting along so well with the guys?_

"Fuh-ine," Massie sneered. "You're officially apart of us."

"WHAT?" Alicia blurted out, her jaw dropping.

"Oh shut it," Massie rolled her eyes, using her hand to clench Alicia's jaw shut. She turned back to Nikki and narrowed her eyes. "There are only two rules of being a Pretty Committee member."

"Rules?" Kristen looked confused. "There are _rules_?"

"Yes," Massie hissed. She turned back to Nikki. "Don't ever embarrass our name, _ever_."

"The other one?" Nikki waited patiently.

"Don't you dare try to take my alpha spot or overthrow me," Massie murmured threateningly so Alicia and the others couldn't hear.

"I swear I won't," Nikki said, holding up her pinky.

Massie eyed the girl's chipped black nail polish. "And you'll have to clean _that_." She said. Massie felt as though she was having a déjà vu. Pinky to pinky. Alpha to alpha. It reminded her so much of the promise that she and Skye had.

So was Nikki a potential Skye?


	11. Do Me A Favor

**a/n: **sorry to CLAM fans, but i personally hate that pairing. i hate claire in general. anyways. if you're mad at me that cam is so in lurrrrve with nikki. take it out on a pillow. but don't start whining in comments. it's unflattering. :)

* * *

**OCD**

**Cafeteria**

**Wednesday, September 12****th**

**12:23**

Massie leaned back in the plastic blue chair, a small scowl shadowing her face. Why had she invited Nikki to be apart of them? Of course Massie _had_ to. She had no choice. If she had continued ignoring Nikki, she would've been dubbed as immature and all the girls would start going to Nikki for advice.

There had already been two slightly dazed seventh grade girls come up to them and ask Nikki what had happened between her and Cam under the watchful eye of Massie. Everyone was talking about the little showdown that happened the day before.

It seemed like Nikki was scoring the spotlight. When Massie had officially included Nikki in The Pretty Committee, people seemed to go on with life without surprise. It was like Nikki belonged in it. Where was the drama? Where was the jealousy? Massie had expected tons of girls to come up to her and ask why they weren't good enough to be in the clique.

But none of that happened.

It seemed like the whole school felt that it was natural and that Nikki was good enough to be in The Pretty Committee. And maybe even a bit better.

Massie sighed, regained her perfectly straight posture—thanks to being a very good horse rider, and had a spoonful of her low-fat vanilla yogurt. "So, does anyone have any gossip points?" She asked, considering it was the only thing there was to say.

The rest of the clique and practically the whole cafeteria were staring at Nikki in awe at how she landed a spot in the most sought after clique in school in less than a week. Massie heard a faint voice cry out, "YOU GO, GIRL!"

Finally Alicia interrupted the agonizing silence. "I have nothing," She sighed, playing with a few strands of hair that she brought up to her face to examine for split ends.

This was going to be one long lunch period.

——————————

"Just look at her," Derrick scoffed, finally turning back from the guys after a whole minute spent just staring at Massie Block. Cam was the only one who knew that he secretly still liked her. _Why had he called her immature? WHY? WHY? WHY?_

"Like you have for the past however many hours?" Chris retorted, looking a bit confused. "You say you don't like her, yet you look at her so much. Why, Derrick?"

"Well Dr. Loni," Derrick began, shooting Chris a glare, "the thing is, she just confuses me."

"Which is why you're so drawn to her," Cam muttered. "Ow!" He said after Derrick kicked him under the table.

"Hey, Cam is the one here who got turned down by his lover in front of everyone in the hallway yesterday after lunch," Derrick gloated.

"Back to the subject," Cam quickly said.

"Yeah, sure," Derrick rolled his eyes. "The reason why I've been staring at her for so long is that it just confuses me how she let that girl join. What's her name?"

"I think it was Tiki," Kemp suggested.

"Yeah, Tiki," Derrick snorted. "Point is, she just surprises me. Okay? She likes to keep others sitting at the edge of their seats, waiting for her to do something unexpected. It's like she's wearing one of those t-shirts that say _keep watching, I might pull a stunt_ or something like that. Except she wouldn't exactly wear a t-shirt because that's not really her."

"You know so much." Cam mumbled. "It almost seems like you still like—OW! Stop kicking me. What are you trying to do, play footsie with me or something?" Cam looked up, holding up his plastic fork in a menacing way.

Cam was so close to jumping across the table and tackling Derrick to the ground. Judging by his friend's knobby knees, he wasn't a big match for him. Derrick was just getting so annoying how he kept on denying he still liked Massie. Hello? Cam was the one who got rejected in front of tons of people. And Derrick just had to rub it in.

Cam glared at Derrick and then put angrily started stabbing holes into his pizza, imagining it as Derrick's face.

"Um, excuse me; can I talk to you for a second?"

Cam could tell the voice was familiar, but he didn't bother looking up. Or at least until Kemp greeted her.

"Heeeeeey Tiki, what's up?"

——————————

"Look Cam, I'm _really_ sorry that I had to do that yesterday. Especially since it was right in front of Claire and I'm guessing that wasn't so good for your ego. But obviously since all the guys want you to go out with her, I can't do anything about it. I know how guys are. I know how your friends' opinions are the ones that really matter." Nikki said, fumbling with a tendril of her red hair as she said this. "But the thing that really annoyed me was how you just had to ask me right in front of her. Seriously, how cruel was that? And I don't know about you, but the first thing I want to do when I go to a new school is make some friends. And because of you, I never really got a chance to do that."

"Sorry" was all Cam got to say before Nikki started ranting again.

"And lately I've been thinking that maybe I shouldn't have anything to do with you. I just became friends with Massie and them and I'm really enjoying being a TPC member. I get to be apart of all their lingo-talk and stuff." Nikki smiled. "But then I realized that I would even a better friend if I stayed friends with you and hooked you up with Claire. So what do you think?"

"What?" Cam faltered. "Did Claire tell you do to that? Did Massie? Did they tell you that if you didn't do it they'd gossip about you and ruin you? Because it's never really that true, Massie's usually an empty threat and if you need my help—"

"No, silly," Nikki shook her head. "I just think that I would be doing everyone a big favor if I got everything back to what it used to be."

Cam scrunched his nose up. There was no way he wanted to get back with Claire. She was such a pain. She was also so clingy and whiney and had absolutely no self-opinion.

"Well?" Nikki asked after a few seconds of silence. She gave Cam a look so hopeful that it made him go weak-kneed. At least now he knew how Derrick must have felt when he was staring at Massie during lunch.

"I'll think about it, okay?" Cam answered, knowing it was the best answer for now.

Nikki grinned. "That's all I ask."

"So we cool?" Cam drifted off, holding his breath just incase she said no and walked away. Then again, only someone as dramatic and needy as Claire would do something like that.

"We're cooler than cool. We're chill," Nikki laughed, rolling her eyes at her own cheesiness.

Would Cam _really_ get back with Claire just to please Nikki?

A guy would do anything to get the girl.


	12. Only Time Will Tell

**a/n: **sorry to CLAM fans, but i personally hate that pairing. i hate claire in general. anyways. if you're mad at me that cam is so in lurrrrve with nikki. take it out on a pillow. but don't start whining in comments. it's unflattering. :)

* * *

**OCD**

**Cafeteria**

**Wednesday, September 12****th**

**12:23**

Massie leaned back in the plastic blue chair, a small scowl shadowing her face. Why had she invited Nikki to be apart of them? Of course Massie _had_ to. She had no choice. If she had continued ignoring Nikki, she would've been dubbed as immature and all the girls would start going to Nikki for advice.

There had already been two slightly dazed seventh grade girls come up to them and ask Nikki what had happened between her and Cam under the watchful eye of Massie. Everyone was talking about the little showdown that happened the day before.

It seemed like Nikki was scoring the spotlight. When Massie had officially included Nikki in The Pretty Committee, people seemed to go on with life without surprise. It was like Nikki belonged in it. Where was the drama? Where was the jealousy? Massie had expected tons of girls to come up to her and ask why they weren't good enough to be in the clique.

But none of that happened.

It seemed like the whole school felt that it was natural and that Nikki was good enough to be in The Pretty Committee. And maybe even a bit better.

Massie sighed, regained her perfectly straight posture—thanks to being a very good horse rider, and had a spoonful of her low-fat vanilla yogurt. "So, does anyone have any gossip points?" She asked, considering it was the only thing there was to say.

The rest of the clique and practically the whole cafeteria were staring at Nikki in awe at how she landed a spot in the most sought after clique in school in less than a week. Massie heard a faint voice cry out, "YOU GO, GIRL!"

Finally Alicia interrupted the agonizing silence. "I have nothing," She sighed, playing with a few strands of hair that she brought up to her face to examine for split ends.

This was going to be one long lunch period.

"Just look at her," Derrick scoffed, finally turning back from the guys after a whole minute spent just staring at Massie Block. Cam was the only one who knew that he secretly still liked her. _Why had he called her immature? WHY? WHY? WHY?_

"Like you have for the past however many hours?" Chris retorted, looking a bit confused. "You say you don't like her, yet you look at her so much. Why, Derrick?"

"Well Dr. Loni," Derrick began, shooting Chris a glare, "the thing is, she just confuses me."

"Which is why you're so drawn to her," Cam muttered. "Ow!" He said after Derrick kicked him under the table.

"Hey, Cam is the one here who got turned down by his lover in front of everyone in the hallway yesterday after lunch," Derrick gloated.

"Back to the subject," Cam quickly said.

"Yeah, sure," Derrick rolled his eyes. "The reason why I've been staring at her for so long is that it just confuses me how she let that girl join. What's her name?"

"I think it was Tiki," Kemp suggested.

"Yeah, Tiki," Derrick snorted. "Point is, she just surprises me. Okay? She likes to keep others sitting at the edge of their seats, waiting for her to do something unexpected. It's like she's wearing one of those t-shirts that say _keep watching, I might pull a stunt_ or something like that. Except she wouldn't exactly wear a t-shirt because that's not really her."

"You know so much." Cam mumbled. "It almost seems like you still like—OW! Stop kicking me. What are you trying to do, play footsie with me or something?" Cam looked up, holding up his plastic fork in a menacing way.

Cam was so close to jumping across the table and tackling Derrick to the ground. Judging by his friend's knobby knees, he wasn't a big match for him. Derrick was just getting so annoying how he kept on denying he still liked Massie. Hello? Cam was the one who got rejected in front of tons of people. And Derrick just had to rub it in.

Cam glared at Derrick and then put angrily started stabbing holes into his pizza, imagining it as Derrick's face.

"Um, excuse me; can I talk to you for a second?"

Cam could tell the voice was familiar, but he didn't bother looking up. Or at least until Kemp greeted her.

"Heeeeeey Tiki, what's up?"

"Look Cam, I'm _really_ sorry that I had to do that yesterday. Especially since it was right in front of Claire and I'm guessing that wasn't so good for your ego. But obviously since all the guys want you to go out with her, I can't do anything about it. I know how guys are. I know how your friends' opinions are the ones that really matter." Nikki said, fumbling with a tendril of her red hair as she said this. "But the thing that really annoyed me was how you just had to ask me right in front of her. Seriously, how cruel was that? And I don't know about you, but the first thing I want to do when I go to a new school is make some friends. And because of you, I never really got a chance to do that."

"Sorry" was all Cam got to say before Nikki started ranting again.

"And lately I've been thinking that maybe I shouldn't have anything to do with you. I just became friends with Massie and them and I'm really enjoying being a TPC member. I get to be apart of all their lingo-talk and stuff." Nikki smiled. "But then I realized that I would even a better friend if I stayed friends with you and hooked you up with Claire. So what do you think?"

"What?" Cam faltered. "Did Claire tell you do to that? Did Massie? Did they tell you that if you didn't do it they'd gossip about you and ruin you? Because it's never really that true, Massie's usually an empty threat and if you need my help—"

"No, silly," Nikki shook her head. "I just think that I would be doing everyone a big favor if I got everything back to what it used to be."

Cam scrunched his nose up. There was no way he wanted to get back with Claire. She was such a pain. She was also so clingy and whiney and had absolutely no self-opinion.

"Well?" Nikki asked after a few seconds of silence. She gave Cam a look so hopeful that it made him go weak-kneed. At least now he knew how Derrick must have felt when he was staring at Massie during lunch.

"I'll think about it, okay?" Cam answered, knowing it was the best answer for now.

Nikki grinned. "That's all I ask."

"So we cool?" Cam drifted off, holding his breath just incase she said no and walked away. Then again, only someone as dramatic and needy as Claire would do something like that.

"We're cooler than cool. We're chill," Nikki laughed, rolling her eyes at her own cheesiness.

Would Cam _really_ get back with Claire just to please Nikki?

A guy would do anything to get the girl.


	13. The Way They Were Before

**a/n:** if you didn't already notice. i'm going to make up all the screen names instead of facing the embarrassment of getting them wrong. except for the PC's screen names. those, i know (; anyways. enjoy. happy valentine's day, people ! and. i'll be in vegas until monday so don't expect me to make a fast update. :)

* * *

**The Block Estate**

**Massie's Bedroom**

**Wednesday, September 12****th**

**3:20 pm**

Massie paced around her massive-sized room. She had gotten home and quickly changed into something perfect for the occasion. As the TPC surrounded her on the plush white carpeting, she thought of a carefully devised plan all under the curious eyes of her friends.

As she smoothed out her Elie Tahari Celia shirt and dusted off any imaginary lint on her black Nicolette skirt. The outfit totally went for the image she was trying to get out. She meant business but wasn't so serious that she would stray away from a satin and feather trim.

"Um, Mass?" Claire asked, chewing on a strand of her hair. It made an odd crunching sound that made Massie shudder in disgust. The only thing she put in _her_ mouth was Dentyne Ice, her toothbrush, and food.

"What, Kuh-laire?" Massie rolled her flickering amber eyes.

"Nikki isn't here," Claire peered around the room.

"Of course nawt," Massie looked taken aback as though the thought of Nikki even being close to the Block Estate would be tragic. "Are you my ahb-viously delusional optometrist?"

"No…" Claire faltered.

"Then why do you think I can't see?" Massie giggled. "Ahb-viously Nikki isn't here. This is an official GLU meeting. Did you actually think I was being serious when I said she was officially apart of us?"

"Well," Alicia pouted. "It did seem pretty real when you showed her the TV and told her all about the ESP spying." Massie glared. "But yeah, I didn't fall for it. I knew all along that she wasn't a real GLU," Alicia lied.

"Yeah, I knew it all along too," Dylan quickly said.

"Yeah, I'm not that gullible," Kristen also piped.

"See, Kuh-laire?" Massie raised an eyebrow. "And you might think Nikki's all nice and stuff, but I bet she's nawt. I promise you that she wanted to read that text out loud, just to see you look all hurt and worried."

"I don't know," Claire furrowed her white-blonde eyebrows. She kept twisting the hem of her long-sleeved cotton t-shirt—a sign she was nervous. "She can't really control when Cam sends her text messages."

"That's the thing," Massie interrupted loudly. "She's your enemy because you're competing against her for Cam!"

Alicia chuckled. "I think it's pretty obvious that Nikki doesn't want Cam."

"Leesh," Massie groaned. "What I'm trying to say is I don't think Claire should get too friendly with Nikki. None of us should. I think she's hiding something. From now on, act fake around her. We'll act all nice so she won't tell anyone about the bomb shelter but don't be all loose around her. Make sure not to spill any of your secrets. Kristen, you're rich, 'kay? Dylan, don't act all self-conscious about your weight. Alicia, I won't mention anything about you trying to overtake my alpha spot last year. To her, we have got to seem inseparable and faultless so she doesn't try anything. Capeesh?"

"Capeesh," The PC repeated.

"One more thing," Massie said, tilting her head and grinning a bit. "Kuh-laire, I know you can't last that long anymore so… boy-fast is more over than Burberry's last collection!"

Nikki twirled a strand of her hair as she absent-mindedly tapped on her computer's keyboard. Whew, that was close, she thought. TPC and Claire almost found out about her big surprise to try to get everything back to what it used to be like. Cam had told her about how Derrick and Massie used to be together which led to Nikki having thought of a great idea to get _all_ the couples back together.

**C4M3R0N: **Are you serious about trying to get Der & Mass back together? That's crazy. She hates him.

**KkiGUURLx: **How would you know, silly? Do you hang out with Massie like I do?

**C4M3R0N: **Well, no… But you can't really trust Massie, can you? I bet she's having a TPC meeting right now without you.

**KkiGUURLx:** Thanks for being so supportive. That made me feel a BUNCH better.

**C4M3R0N:** Sorry… It's just Massie.

**KkiGUURLx:** You need to learn how to trust people.

**C4M3R0N:** You need to learn how to know good people from bad.

Nikki rolled her emerald-green eyes. Well, he did have a point. But there was no way the PC would be having an official meeting without her. Didn't Massie say she was a tape or something? Or was it glue? Ah, GLU, Nikki snapped her fingers, grinning that she actually remembered some Pretty Committee lingo.

Nikki didn't have to listen to Cam, right? She was smart enough to think for herself. She could trust anyone she wanted.

Even if it hurt her.

She snapped out of her disappointed trance as an AIM buddy alert popped up. She had added one to Derrick's new screen name (since he was no longer an only-shorts guy) right after Cam told her what it was. She was going to get the Derrick/Massie plan working that way she'd be on Massie's permanent good side soon.

**KkiGUURLx: **Hey Derrick.

**Jeanz4Life: **Whos this? Wait… Kki… Tikki? TIKKI! Heeeeeey, Tikki. U still going after Cam my man?

**KkiGUURLx:** Um, it's Nikki.

**Jeanz4Life:** Whos that?

Nikki took a second to roll her eyes at Derrick's chatspeak and how pointless it was to argue with him.

**KkiGUURLx:** Yeah, it's Tikki.

**Jeanz4Life:** COOL! Wats up??

**KkiGUURLx: **Well, Massie was talking about you today. What do you think about that?

It wasn't really a lie. Massie had said something about Derrick. When she first saw him wearing his Diesel jeans to school, Massie had gasped and said, "Ehmagawd, Derring—I mean, Derrick's wearing jeans!" But cue the collective amounts of gasps escaping from the PC members and Nikki and she quickly took it back and added snidely, "He's trying to look so cool by sagging. But it's so not working, right guys?"

**Jeanz4Life: **Srsly? I knew jeans wuld work!! Do U think that if I askd her out, shed say yesss?

**KkiGUURLx: **Def.

Perfect. So her plan was finally in action. Things were finally going to go back to the way they were before.

Too bad some people think that things before were worse than they are now.


	14. So Many Lies

**A/N: **Just to clarify, when they're texting and they're using their screen name, that means they're on AIM on their cell phone or on the computer. But when it's just their name, they're just texting on their cell phone.

* * *

**BOCD**

**The Hallways**

**Thursday, September 13****th**

**7:46 am**

"It's now or never," Nikki reminded him, urging Cam to just walk across the hallway and ask Claire out. Nikki was so tired of the PC and everyone else in the school thinking that she and Cam had a "thing" for each other.

Cam stayed glued to the place he was standing. He kept on reminding himself over and over again that if he asked Claire out, Nikki will finally realize that he liked him all along. He was doing this for _her_. "How about never?" He suggested. He just couldn't muster up the courage to ask Claire out.

Then again, you didn't really need courage. You just needed a reason to die.

"Come on, you said you'd do it." Nikki's green eyes widened. "Cam… you promised."

Oh no, he wasn't going to fall for that one. He winced but couldn't help look down at her face. Her eyes were huge and full of hope and her lips were in a small pout. "Don't go all Claire on me."

"I'm not," Nikki protested. "I just want everything to go back to the way it was before I messed everything up." She said, tugging at the collar of her black Splendid cardigan.

Cam softened up a bit. "You didn't mess up anything. Things fell into place by themselves. You didn't do anything wrong. Are you just making me ask Claire out just because you think it's your fault we broke up in the first place?"

Nikki looked down at her Michael Kors platform sandals. Was that really the reason why she felt the need to fix everything up? "Truthfully Cam," Nikki sighed, looking back up at Cam's mismatched eyes. "I don't know," She frowned. "But can you just please, do it?" Nikki groaned. She was no longer in control of her feelings. Cam read her like a book. And it felt totally weird.

"Do you really want me to?" Cam asked. "Are you positively sure?"

_No,_ Nikki wanted to reply. She wasn't sure of anything anymore. Did she only want Cam to ask Claire out so she could fit in more at school? Did she only ask him to do it out of guilt? "Yes," She gulped. "I'm positively sure."

Liar.

"Cam's coming over," Massie hissed. "Do you know why he's coming over?" She asked Claire. "And where's Nikki?" She scowled. She had _nuh-thing_ under control. If she was going to stay alpha of the PC and the rest of the school, she was supposed to be on top of everything. So where was her newest member and why was Mr. Heartbreaker coming over?

Claire's eyes widened. She quickly fixed her out-grown blonde bangs and patted her hair down. "Cam?" She said, not caring one bit at how shocked and surprised she sounded.

"Hey, uh, Claire, can I talk to you?" Cam asked, not quite looking into Claire's desperate eyes.

Claire blushed red and looked at Massie for approval. Massie nodded her head and shook her cell phone. Claire was to report to Massie on what happened right after Cam talked to her. "Of _course_, I mean, yeah totally, I mean," Claire exhaled loudly. "Sure," She said, trying to act casual.

It wasn't working at all.

Once they were out of the PC's hearing range, Cam stopped walking and turned towards Claire, looking at her eyes for what seemed like the first time in months. "I've been thinking for a long time and I don't blame you for snooping." Lie.

"You don't?" Claire looked relieved. "So when you told me to stop calling you, did you mean that?"

"Of course not," Cam shook his head. Another lie. "Look, Nikki was just a phase. She's just a friend. Sometimes I get delusional." So many lies.

"What are you trying to say?" Claire squeaked. "Are you saying—?"

"Yeah, so um, will you go out with me? Again?" Cam asked, taking out the bag of gummy worms he had bought before school from his pocket. "I got these for you."

"Wow," Claire shook her head. She was speechless. "This is…"

"All Nikki's idea," Cam blurted. He couldn't let himself take all the credit, right? "She told me, as a friend, that I should really give you another chance."

"She did?" Claire held her breath. "She wasn't trying to steal you away from me all this time?"

"No," Cam furrowed his brows at that. Claire seriously thought _that_? "Um… so yeah, I'll stop by your house and leave Todd a C-note or something," Cam said, trying to remember what else he used to do for Claire. "So I'll see you during first break or something."

"Actually, we have home room together," Claire said helpfully. "Sit by me?"

"Yeah, sure," Cam nodded. He was desperate to get away and start yelling at himself for listening to Nikki. Oh, he was _so_ whipped.

"This is so awesome," Claire squealed, launching herself at Cam and wrapping her skinny arms around Cam's neck. "It's going to be just like last year, except _better_."

Cam held back to urge to cough as he accidentally breathed in Claire's cheap perfume. This was going to suck.

**Massie: **Derrick just sent me a text. Do you think the boys are planning something?

**Claire:** IDK but CAM JUST ASKED ME OUT! I request for 100 gossip points.

**Massie:** Done! EMERGENCY TPC MEETING AT LUNCH! U R NOT GOING TO BE SITTING WITH LUVERBOY 2DAY! G2G. Derrick's walking my way!

Massie quickly shut her phone and dropped it back into her tote bag before fluffing out her hair. Derrick was wearing his signature smirk as he walked down the hallway towards her, totally working his True Religions.

Massie practically semi-fainted. Since when did Derrick actually look…mature?

"Hey Block," Derrick grinned, stopping right in front of her. "Did you miss me?"

"Since when do I miss you?" Massie said, remembering that she was still mad at him for calling her immature. "Puh-lease, I don't miss you. You're almost in all of my classes."

"So you noticed," Derrick continued smiling.

Massie blushed. "Well," she said, trying to think of something witty to say but nothing came to mind. "You're so obnoxious and show-off-y during class, only someone blind _and_ death wouldn't notice you."

"So I'm noticeable," Derrick chuckled.

"Harrington, I didn't say that you were notice—"

"Don't sweat it, Block," Derrick murmured. "I'm noticeable. You're noticeable. Let's get back together so we can be the most noticeable couple at BOCD, okay?"

Massie couldn't help but shiver. Derrick's voice when down to a whisper gave her chills. "That sounds—" She started melting a bit but then snapped back to reality. What was she doing here? Derrick was going to have to work to get her back! She wasn't easy like Claire. "That sounds disgusting," Massie scrunched up her nose and took a few steps back. "You don't actually believe that I'll take you back like _that_." Massie said, snapping in his face. "Wake up, Harrington!" She scowled, snapping again. "This is Massie Block you're talking to."

"How could I forget," Derrick said, his shoulders drooping as he rolled his eyes. Nikki lied. Massie so did not say yes.

"If you like me, you're going to have to prove it," Massie narrowed her eyes. "I'm not a little prize you win at the carnival after shooting a couple of baskets," Massie said with a sniff. "I'm like a long-term goal. You have to work for it."

Work for it, Derrick repeated in his head. He didn't like the sound of that.

"Are you up for it?" Massie snickered. "Or are _you_ too immature?"

But Derrick did like the sound of a challenge.

"Bring it on, Block." Derrick taunted, fighting the urge to turn around and wiggle his butt. "So what do I have to do?"

Massie laughed. "If I told you, then it wouldn't really be much of a challenge, would it? Surprise me, would you? Prove to me that you're irreplaceable and that I actually _need_ you in my life. But don't keep me waiting. Massie Block is not patient and doesn't wait for anyone."

"Got it," Derrick nodded, taking out his phone.

"What are you doing?" Massie peered over his shoulder.

"Calling for backup," Derrick shrugged.

**Derrick: **Cam, my man! The LUV machine! Want 2 help me with another favor?


	15. Write Me A Love Song

**a/n: **yes, i wrote the song (: so no stealing or i'll put pencils in between my fingers and be like wolverine and punch you in the face ( virtually, of course ). obviously i changed the lyrics a bit. ( since in my song, it's he instead of she ) but yeah. :P if you hate it, totally understandable. but you don't have to tell me. i know i'm not a songwriter. anyways. ENJOY ! i felt especially sappy today.

* * *

**BOCD**

**The Great Lawn**

**Thursday, September 13****th**

**9:32 am free period**

"No," Cam repeated for the umpteenth time that day in a row. He tried to swat away his friend, who was kneeling on the floor in proposal-position and hands in begging-position. "Derrick, I said no."

Derrick rolled his eyes and got up from the ground, dusting off his new True Religions. "Come on, I totally helped you win Claire back." Derrick said sarcastically.

Cam gave him a dirty look. "How'd you hear about that?" It felt like Derrick was rubbing salt on an open wound. A very whiney, babyish open wound.

"Sources," Derrick shrugged. "Come on, Cammy-boy, _help_?"

"Help, how?" Cam narrowed his eyes, getting ready to say no if Derrick asked for anything concerning money.

"Well, Block told me that I got to surprise her." Derrick explained. "Like, impress her a _lot_. And I've heard girls say you're the more romantic one in the bunch."

"What are you?" Cam asked, barely even interested.

"I'm the hot one," Derrick sighed, feeling very full-of-himself. "The model HART," Derrick swooned.

Cam rolled his mismatched eyes. "Sing her a song, write her a poem, do whatever you can find by studying chick flicks," Cam said, shaking his friend by the shoulders. "But I got stuff to do." Cam turned to walk away.

"Stuff, eh?" Derrick said, jumping in front of Cam and giving him a brief eyebrow-wiggle. "What kind of stuff?" He asked, nudging his friend with his elbow.

Cam scrunched up his nose "The stuff you're thinking of is that last type of stuff I'll be doing with Claire." He shook his head and continued trying to make an escape.

"Where are you going?" Derrick asked.

"As far away as I can," Cam answered. "From _her_," He added, nodding his head towards the group of giggling girls formally known as the Pretty Committee.

Derrick furrowed his eyebrows and groaned. Before he could ask Cam which girl he was referring to, he was already out of sight.

Must have been in a rush, right?

"Ehmagod," Massie squealed. "That's _so_ juicy," She air-clapped, which sending the rest of the PC (excluding Claire and Nikki) in a frenzy of air-clapping too. The weather had been perfect for hanging out underneath their favorite oak tree instead of the gloomy bomb shelter. "Then what happened?"

"And then, he gave me a huge hug," Claire lied. Well, she didn't really lie since she herself didn't really even remember exactly what happened. She was too shocked to even think. All she remembered was falling into his arms and breathing in his scent. The same scent that was now lingering on her clothes, just the way she liked it.

"So cute," Alicia held up a finger. "Point!"

"How are you and Josh?" Kristen smiled smugly.

"Josh?" Alicia acted confused. "Kristen, the boy-fast has only been over since yesterday. Why would you think that during the short time period in between then and now, Josh asked me out?"

The whole PC gave her an I-wasn't-born-yesterday look. "Puh-lease," Massie rolled her amber eyes. "It was so obvious how you guys were secretly meeting behind my back."

Alicia bit the inside of her bottom lip. "And are you mad?"

"Nah," Massie smirked. "But that's one-hundred gossip points that you just lost!" Massie dug into her purse for her PDA and started clicking on the touch-screen.

"Ehmagod, that's so nawt fair," Alicia pouted. She turned the attention to Nikki. "So, how do _you_ feel?"

"Me?" Nikki gave Alicia an incredulous look. "Why me?"

"Because your 'man' fell into the arms of another 'woman'," Alicia giggled, air-quoting. Claire glared at Alicia. No girl really liked being called a _woman_. It made them feel so voluptuous. And obviously Claire was quite the opposite.

"Actually," Claire spoke up for Nikki. "It was her idea in the first place. Cam told me that it was Nikki that encouraged him to ask me out again. Right, Nikki?" Claire fumbled with her bangs. Inside she was fuming. He needed _Nikki's_ encouragement? She waited all this time and the only reason why he even made a move was because of _her_?

Nikki's face flushed a healthy pink. Why did Cam have to tell Claire? "Well, yeah," Nikki laughed. "But I can't take all of the credit; Cam's the one who got the gummy worms."

Claire smiled triumphantly. So maybe Cam did like her sincerely again.

Or maybe not.

Massie sat down in her seat. English Honors was always a bore. She felt a slight tap at the back of her head. When she turned around, all she saw was a bunch of kids snickering. She gave them all glares. That quieted them down. She turned around in her seat to find that there was a folded-up piece of paper in her seat.

She brought it up to her desk and unfolded it carefully.

_Block :)_

The only person that called her by her last name was Derrick. She put on a cold look and then turned around to give him an icy glare. "_What?_" She mouthed.

"Quiet!" Ms. L shouted. They were supposed to be silently reading. Massie turned back to her desk as though she was actually interested in her book. She loved the magazine, but Vanity Fair the book was just such a waste of her time. If only a new Gossip Girl book came out.

Another note was tossed towards it. It landed perfectly on her desk and slid a bit until it reached the upper right corner. She snatched it and unfolded it.

_I wrote you a song :)_

She decided to just write a note back to him instead of risk getting in trouble for it again.

_That's nice. Can I see it? And just wondering, why aren't we texting?_ She said, turning around a bit and flinging it across the room.

The rest of the class was totally oblivious. They lost interest when Ms. L barked out. She was no teacher to get on the bad side of.

A note came flying past her. This time, it was much larger.

_Love notes written on paper are more romantic. Anyways, here it goes:_

_So there's this girl and she kind of has my heart._

_What she doesn't know is that she's tearing it apart._

_Whenever I see her smile; it's all I can think about for a while._

_I can only sit here and wait._

_Wonder, think, contemplate._

_Maybe if I see her smile; it'll hold me over for a while._

_Only it's more than it seems; she's the girl of my dreams._

_I want to whisper in her ear._

_You're the only voice I ever hear_

_Sometimes I don't know what to do_

_I think I'm too much in love with you_

_So now I'm wondering what went wrong_

_Maybe we just don't belong_

_But then I see her smile; I know it's all worthwhile_

_You like? It's all I got so far._

Who said she wasn't a softie on the inside? One sappy song and it won her over.


	16. The Desperate One

**a/n: **sorry for taking so long to update. i've been very busy (: actually, not really. i've just been really lazy. this was really not one of my best chapters :X haha. but enjoy anyways. xo ivy -

* * *

**BOCD**

**The Hallways**

**Thursday, September 13****th**

**12:10 pm**

"So are we together?" Derrick jumped in front Massie. They had just gotten out of their fifth period class and Massie hadn't spoken a word to him since he showed her the song he wrote.

Okay, so he didn't really write it. He actually texted his musically-talented cousin right after Cam had given the suggestion and jotted the song down. But Massie didn't know that, did she? Plus, Derrick was pretty sure she was happy with him. She had given him a slight nod and her signature smile when she read the note a few periods earlier.

Girls were _so_ confusing, Derrick thought.

Massie looked at him blankly. "Together?" A smirk tugged at the sides of her perfectly-glossed lips. "Where would you get that idea?"

"Well, because you told me to surprise you and I wrote that song for you—"

"And what?" Massie rolled her eyes. She tugged at a strand of her warm-chestnut-brown hair. "I said prove that you were irreplaceable, not that you can scribble lyrics onto a scrap of notebook paper."

Derrick looked at Massie in disbelief. What was he? Her _slave_? "Then what now?"

"Derrick," Massie sighed, pretending to sound like she actually cared about what he was going to do next. Please, she already totally gave in to him. She just wanted to see how long he could keep it up. Why _nawt_ push the limit? "Are you iTunes?"

"Um, no?" Derrick answered hesitantly. Was that even a question? Or did he just look totally stupid answering something rhetorical?

"Then why do you think I want a song?" Massie let him down easily in a nicer tone than she normally used against those LBR girls. She tugged slightly on the scallop trim v-neckline of her Rebecca Taylor fitted poncho. "Think of something else, okay? Don't give up. It's not that flattering."

"Flattering? Who gives a shit about flattering?" Derrick muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Massie asked, a sugary smile still plastered on her face.

Derrick took a deep breath and gave Massie a hug. "I just hope you're worth it," Derrick whispered into her hair. Who said he wasn't the romantic one?

More like desperate one.

Speaking of desperate, there's was only one thing the students at BOCD were whispering about and that was the newest get-back-together pairing of _Clam_.

Cam blew his dark bangs out of his face as he walked to his locker. Most of the students were ecstatic since lunch meant fifty minutes of guilt-free, teacher-free happiness. But as Cam got closer to his destination, only suspenseful horror music was playing in his head.

_Duh-dun. Duh-dun. Duh-dun-duh-dun-duh-duh-duh-duh-_"Whoa!" Cam whipped around. Small clammy hands were covering his eyes. The person was way shorter since he nearly fell backwards. But it wasn't exactly a mystery who the hands belonged to.

Claire stood there, hands pressed together in prayer position near her right cheek. "Hi Cam," She greeted shyly. Claire slowly batted her mascara-clumped eyelashes in what she thought was in a seductive manner.

Cam begged to differ.

Cam managed to lift one hand up and give her a limp wave. "Err, Claire," He gave her a slight nod.

"Massie said that I have to sit next to her during lunch to give her the four-one-one on us," Claire blushed. "I just wanted to tell you in person that I'm not sitting with you."

Cam blinked at her. Did she actually think he cared? Please, it felt like a great burden had been lifted off his shoulders. "That's wonderful!" Cam exclaimed. Claire gave him a confused look. "I mean, uh, okay."

"I need your help," A guy voice said. "See, there's this girl and—" Nikki rolled her eyes. Was the official BOCD guy-shrink/matchmaker or something? Her reddish-brown bangs fell in front of her eyes as she turned around to see who the voice belonged to.

"Hi, um…" Nikki fumbled with the guy's name. She knew he hung around Cam. He had a NYY cap and the most stylish—come on; he was a _guy_-Ralph Lauren outfit. She knew it started with a J. And this had to be the guy Alicia couldn't stop talking about. "Josh, was it?"

"Yeah," he smiled, showing off the white fangs on either side of his smile. "See, there's this girl Alicia—"

"Rivera," Nikki finished his sentence. "I hang out with them, remember? So what's the problem? You guys seem pretty happy. You asked her out, didn't you? Kristen asked something about you guys and Alicia started blushing."

Josh turned red. His dark brown eyes widened. "Um, did she say anything else?"

"Well, Alicia _implied_ that you guys were secretly meeting behind Massie's back during the boy-fast, which is already officially over," Nikki shrugged. "What do you need help with anyways?"

"Well, that's the problem," Josh blinked. "I'm perfectly fine when it comes to hanging out with her alone. But since Cam and Claire are back together and now Derrick's on the road to pursuing Massie, I just know I'm going to be dragged into some triple dates."

"So?" Nikki giggled. How come boys were _so_ naïve? "Group dates are fun."

"Yeah, but Alicia's going to expect me to be the perfect boyfriend. So her friends can look at her in jealousy. I'm really not good at that stuff." Josh frowned.

"You're not?" Nikki looked surprised. "But according to everything I've been hearing around the school, you're pretty presentable for a guy. I heard you're a fan of Ralph Lauren and everything."

"Maybe," Josh grinned. He tilted his cap up a bit. "But who's still wearing the baseball cap? The last time I checked, it gives people hat hair."

"Well, whatever," Nikki sighed. "You don't really have to worry about it. It's not like Derrick's doing that well."

"Um, that's the problem. He's kind of giving up and just asking Massie to a date, a _group_ date," Josh grimaced. "So most likely, we're all going to dinner and movie on Friday."

"That's tomorrow," Nikki stated the obvious.

"Yeah," Josh curled his upper lip over his lower one. "So here's what I was thinking. You're a girl, right?"

Nikki narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hip. "What do you think?"

"I mean, of course you're a girl," Josh quickly corrected. "I was just thinking that you can also come along. And if I do anything wrong or something, you can tell me through signs. You can shake the salt shaker or um, take two sips from your drink twice in a row or something."

Nikki looked at him like he was joking. "You're kidding, right? Who would I even go with?"

"Well, there's someone I have in mind that's totally free and he's really nice when you get to know him—"

"Fine, I'll go. But only because I'm a really nice person and you seem pretty desperate right now. Plus, I'm doing this as a favor to Alicia. So who's my date?" Nikki blinked impatiently. Why was she even agreeing to go to this? Was it because she wanted to help a friend in need? Or was it because she wanted to keep her eyes on a certain couple?

"Kemp," Josh responded.

You have _got_ to be kidding me.


	17. The Big Cheese

**a/n: **Reviewers get to choose what Nikki wears to the date. Please include links! I'll pick my favorite. You can also keep sending in suggestions next chapter, because it's going to take a few chapters to get to the date. Remember, these people are rich. So think designer brands!

Thanks Dernier Cri for reviewing so much! I updated soon just for you (: You're absolutely nifty -- best compliment ever. :D

* * *

**BOCD**

**The Hallways**

**Thursday, September 13****th**

**3:01 pm**

Nikki was busy putting her last period's textbook back into her locker and gathering her stuff to take home for the day when Cam popped up. His locker was obviously next to hers but she wasn't exactly expecting him. Then again, she couldn't expect anyone. She was too busy thinking about the date she had tomorrow.

With a guy who didn't even know her name.

She had a feeling this was so going against her morals.

"Judging by the way you're scrunching up your nose and cursing under your breath, I'm guessing that Derrick already told you the plan?" Cam grinned, leaning on his side against his closed locker door.

Nikki looked up to give him a sour look. "Josh, actually," She shook her hair out of her eyes. "I think it's really retarded that just because Derrick can't really get Massie back—which is totally his fault—he has to blame it on all of us. And now we're dragged into a group date that we don't want to go on. Wait, but I'm sure you do. Because of Claire," Nikki added, trying to hide an urge to roll her eyes.

"Yeah, about that…" Cam started. He wondered if it was a good time to tell Nikki that he didn't even like Claire but only had the eyes for her. He decided against it and planned to do something about it during the date. "Oh yeah, Derrick already asked Massie."

"He did?" Nikki raised an eyebrow. "So he already gave up on trying to court her the old-fashioned way?"

"Yeah," Cam answered. "And Massie agreed only under the circumstances that Derrick pays and goes to the restaurant and movie of her choice. She probably only agreed because she knows that Alicia, Claire, and you will be there."

"Oh that's um, calming," Nikki fumbled, not knowing exactly what to say. "Did you ask Claire?"

Cam grimaced. "Yes, she jumped onto me and practically choked me." Cam finally stood up straighter away from his locker, spun the dial, and pulled the locker door open. He started shoving the large textbook that he was holding in his hands into the locker and taking out some stuff too.

Nikki patted Cam on the back. "It's called a hug, it can't hurt too much," she teased. Oh, she wouldn't know what a Claire-hug feels like, Cam thought bitterly. "Anyways, don't even try to act like you need pity. I'm the one who's paired up with Kemp."

"Yeah, that was pretty random," Cam smiled. "But you'll have fun with him."

She doubted it.

"Tikki! Tikki!" Kemp called out, his bushy-hair bouncing as he ran towards her. He jogged down the last few concrete steps of the main entrance to BOCD. Nikki waited patiently at the bottom, pretending to look behind her so she could get the chance the roll her eyes at how unlucky she was to get paired up with _him._ Once he got the chance to catch his breath, he wiggled his eyebrows at Nikki and smirked smugly. "So I heard we'll be getting it _on_ tomorrow."

Nikki scrunched up her nose. "Um, I don't really know what you mean by that. And I really don't want to find out."

Kemp's smile stayed put on his face. "But Tikki, think of it this way, you're going out with the hottest guy in school. Girls stare at me all the time." He nodded his head. His brown curls bobbed up and down.

"Actually, Hurley, I think that's just the Playboy models staring at the camera." Nikki laughed. She stuck her hands into the pockets of her Rock & Republic dark-wash skinny jeans.

"So what time should I pick you up, Tikki-baby?" He ignored her last statement. Nothing could tear down his fat ego.

Nikki winced at his new pet-name for her. "How about I'll just meet you there? Has Massie decided on the restaurant?" She asked. At least that way she could plan her outfit accordingly.

"We're going to Le Grand Fromage," Kemp said, wiggling his puckered-up lips after using his awful French accent.

"The Big Cheese," Nikki blinked. "Massie Block chose a restaurant called The Big Cheese?" Nikki repeated. "Even in French, it doesn't sound any fancier."

"But it's a fancy restaurant," Kemp shrugged. "So it'll be my treat, okay baby?" He winked, scratching Nikki under her chin with his index finger, making her cringe in disgust.

"Ugh, I feel violated." Nikki shuddered. "Fine, I'll ask Cam or someone for the details later. I'll see you tomorrow, Kemp."

"Bye Tikki," Kemp said, reaching for Nikki's hand to give it a kiss. "Until we meet again—hey! Why'd you snatch your hand away?"

Nikki looked at him with wide eyes. "Well, maybe because number one, I don't really want your hands touching mine. I mean, who knows where they've been? And secondly, I'm not your Tikki-babe."

"You're not?" Kemp looked crestfallen.

Nikki sighed. "Sorry to disappoint your tropical fantasies concerning me, but my name's actually Nikki. I really don't think Tikki is even a real name." Kemp blinked at her, looking confused. He looked shocked, maybe even speechless, like a little kid that was just informed that Santa doesn't exist. But after a few seconds, he finally spoke up again.

"Wait, are you _sure_ your name's not Tikki?"

Nikki's cell phone began vibrating. It moved towards the edge of the table, only to be caught by Nikki's small hands before it reached the floor. "Hello?" She asked after flipping it open.

To her surprise, the least suspected person was on the other end. "Hi, it's Claire," she exhaled. "Massie usually helps me pick out my outfits, but she's kind of in her own bubble right now since Derrick asked her out."

"So you want me to help you?" Nikki guessed. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, looking at the outfit that she already laid onto her dresser. Yes, she had gotten straight home and picked out her outfit. Wonder who she was trying to impress?

"Yeah," Claire answered. Nikki could hear a crunching noise coming from the other end. Claire was biting her nails or munching on her hair. Either way, it was both pretty gross. "So for my top, do you think a white Gap tank top would look better or Massie's old Joie white silk cami?"

"Massie's?" Nikki sighed. "Claire, you should just be yourself. I'm sure Cam would love you for that. But I guess if you like the Joie camisole better—"

Claire squealed. "Okay! Well, I'm so wearing that. Massie gave it to me because she didn't even wear it and the price tag was still on it so I saved it. I took a picture of it and sent it to my friends. They did not believe that a silly little undershirt would cost this much and—"

"What are your choices for the bottoms?" Nikki interrupted Claire. She was starting to wonder how Cam could even stand her. Nikki felt a bit bad that she pressured Cam into asking Claire out again. Maybe there was a reason they broke up.

"Massie's old black Theory sequined miniskirt or these True Religions I got from Dial L for Loser?" Claire asked. "You know that movie I starred in? My costar was Connor—"

"Uh, I think the jeans will look okay. You can dress them up. Do you have a cute blazer or jacket? You'll need those long necklaces to layer. And I guess some black flats would look cute." Nikki suggested. She could hear the sound of squeaking pencil lead gliding around on a piece of paper. "Are you writing this down?" Nikki guessed.

"Yeah," Claire giggled sheepishly. "Thanks, a _lot_. Okay, I'm going to call Cam so we can match. Bye!"

How childish.


	18. Cheesy Movies

**a/n: **sorry for taking so long to update. i just got a new cell phone andi am now obsessed with texting. it's too addictive :D other than that, you guys are welcome to have outfit suggestions of nikki's date outfit... though no one suggested anything in the last chapter's reviews. poutpout. anyways. enjoy !

* * *

**BOCD**

**The Hallways**

**Friday, September 14****th**

**7:32 am**

If life was a cheesy movie, our favorite protagonist would be a bride carrying a bouquet of flowers and walking down an aisle to her life's biggest mistake—the groom. Memories of flashbacks would be replaying in her head. The famous tune of _Here Comes the Bride_ would be taunting her with her every step.

For Nikki, the exact same thing was happening. Except she wasn't getting married to Kemp—thank God for age requirements—and the fancily decorated hallway lined with rows of unwanted relatives was really just a hallway full of catty BOCD students.

Once she got to Kemp, who was standing next to Plovert's locker waiting for his gimp of a friend to finish gathering his stuff for first period, she tapped her ballet flat-encased foot impatiently.

He raised his bushy head (which in Nikki's opinion looked like a blow-dried cat died on it) and grinned when he saw who it was. "Nikki—hey, look, I remember your name now. Nikki. Nikki. Not Tikki."

Nikki raised her eyebrows and took a deep breath. "Well, um, hi?"

She really had nothing to say. Except for ask where she could find Cam. But he was the one that she was supposed to go out with tonight, not Cam. She just wished she could push him towards the back of her mind for just a while.

Chris stared blankly at Nikki. "You're going with Kemp tonight?"

Nikki tried so hard not to scrunch up her nose or stick out her tongue. "Yeah, I am."

"So don't be so jealous," Kemp snickered, giving Chris a little shove. "Nikki, Nikki, Nikki, are you here so I can walk you to your first class? It's a bit early, so we can always do something in between." He said, moving in a little closer and totally evading Nikki's comfort zone.

Nikki flushed red and took a few steps back. "Actually, now that you mentioned, um, walking… Cam likes walking!" Nikki exclaimed. "Um, do you know where he is?" She scrambled to get a bottle of Vitamin Water from her tote bag and unscrewed the cap to take a drink.

Plovert rolled his eyes. He saw through Nikki and read her like an open large-texted book. "Cam's on the lawn." Nikki was about to thank him when Kemp opened his mouth.

"Hey, I get to answer her," Kemp argued. "She's my girlfriend after all."

While we're still on the topic of cheesy movies, you know when someone says something surprising and the other person soaks them in whatever they were drinking at the moment? That's exactly what happened. Kemp got hit with 150 of his daily supplement of Vitamin C.

Nikki quickly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before shouting for the entire hallway to hear. "GIRLFRIEND?" Nikki demanded.

* * *

"You could have told me," Cam said, his face shadowed with a completely-deadpan frown. "I felt like I was the last to know about you and Kemp. I thought we were friends?"

Nikki rolled her eyes. She had been getting that a lot and first period hadn't even started. She got it from Massie (who just glared and told her that she wasn't going to get any gossip points and reminded her that she was in last place). She got it from Claire (who thought that they were besties now after Nikki helped picked out Claire's outfit). And even Kristen (who said that she went to a dance with him before and was confused and hurt that Nikki didn't even confront her about recycling her date—um, what?) had said something about it. Of course Kristen was the only one who burst into a fit of laughter afterwards and told Nikki that she was joking the whole time. But she was still confused about why Nikki would even go out with Kemp.

Nikki was wondering the same thing.

"Actually," Nikki raked a hand through her straight, auburn-colored hair. "I just found out myself that I was Kemp's girlfriend."

Cam's smile returned. "Wait, what? He just called you his girlfriend or something?"

Nikki's eyes widened. She nodded quickly. "Yes, that's exactly it. It's so confusing. How pushy can someone get? And then after that, he wanted to go under the bleachers and _learn_ more about each other. But he kind of didn't want to at the same time because he had to go and change his shirt."

"Change his shirt?"

"Long story," Nikki exhaled. "Anyways, I don't know what to do. I should just go clear things up with him so the _date_ isn't awkward."

Cam laughed. "It's Kemp. How can a date with him be anything but awkward?" He asked dryly. He swung his arm around her shoulders in a—what he thought to be—brotherly way. "Don't worry. If he makes one move on you, lays one finger on you, or anything of the sort, I'll make sure—"

Nikki turned to look at Cam straight in the eye with surprise. "Gosh, Cam, he's your friend. If you _had_ to take sides, I'd assume you'd take Kemp's. I know you hated me last year."

Cam winced. "Hated… now isn't that a really strong word?"

Nikki rolled her eyes. She stopped herself just in time from telling Cam all about how the PC had access to knowing what goes on during ESP. "Oh fine, you just disliked me very, _very_ much. Does that make any much of a difference?"

"It does now," Cam frowned. "I'm sorry, Nikki. I really am. I should've given you a chance before, you know, when you liked me. Now that I think of it, if I could give Claire a second chance… well, I'm just sorry that I didn't give you one."

Nikki sighed loudly and squirmed out of Cam's grasp. "We both really need to figure out who our real dates are for tonight."

Cam blinked. "Does that mean…"

"You should go find Claire," Nikki said. She immediately started power-walking the other direction. She needed to find someone to talk to.

* * *

**a/n:** a part of me wants to give up nikkixcam and try something random. like. nikkington. or um. nikkixchrisplovert. haha. buti think i'll save that for an oneshot...


	19. For Claire's Sake

**A/N**: That last tidbit in the earlier chapter with Dr. Loni was a really pointless filler. So let's just pretend that it never happened, okay? I already took it out! Anyways, I'm going straight to the date! (: BTW, there is no way that this story is over yet! But I might be starting a new one… or maybe a one-shot!

**Disclaimer:** I don't have to do one for each chapter, do I? Anyways. DISCLAIMED. I own Le Grand Fromage and it's workers ;D

* * *

**Westchester, NY**

**Le Grand Fromage**

**Friday, September 14****th**

**7:32 pm**

"You're late," Kemp remarked dryly, looking at Nikki disdainfully. The group of eight huddled in the waiting area for the old French guy to seat them. Kemp had been acting coldly towards Nikki ever since she got pink Vitamin Water on his favorite Element t-shirt.

So much for real men wear pink.

"Only by two minutes. Sorry," Nikki rolled her eyes. "I was practically running towards here with anticipation," she said sarcastically. "How could I be late for something _so_ much fun as this?" She began peeling off her dark-gray cropped canvas jacket to reveal her Free People yellow knee-length sundress.

Kemp was about to give a good Massie-like comeback when he stopped short. He quickly gave Nikki elevator-eyes and made a clicking noise with his tongue. "Are you cold?" His eyes widened, suddenly expressing concern for his "date". He began taking off his gray Billabong jacket.

Nikki looked at him with confusion. Wasn't he just acting all pissed off before? She quickly held up her own jacket and pointed to it with her free hand. "Err, Kemp? If I was cold, wouldn't I have kept my jacket on?"

Kemp was silent. That's when Nikki realized that the whole group was looking at her and her outfit. Massie for once had nothing to say. Cam quickly looked down at his sneakers when Nikki caught his eye. "What? Is this too much?" Nikki groaned, gesturing towards her dress. "I knew I should've worn jeans."

Massie quickly shook her head. "No, Nikki, you look great," she said, softening up a bit. She had to give props to the girl. She was going out with Kemp for whoever's sake.

Namely, Claire's maybe?

The old French guy finally returned from who-knows-where and cleared his throat politely. "May I show you to your table?" He had an arrogant tone to his voice. It was pretty obvious that he looked down on children and wondered how a group of such rowdy teenagers could afford a meal.

Massie instantly took lead and was the first to follow. Derrick tailed behind closely. Once everyone was seated around the two four-seating-tables pushed together, the man placed a tan, leather-bound menu in front of everyone. People instantly hushed as they tried to choose exactly what they wanted.

The girls were worried that they would look too fat eating the wild mushroom-stuffed chicken breast with truffle mashed potatoes or that they'd get garlic bread from eating the chili garlic-crusted North Atlantic salmon.

The boys were worried that they didn't have enough money to pay for the girl's meals alone and wondered if they could order the cheapest salad without seeming gay or self-conscious of their weight.

"Bonjour, I'm Poppy and I'll be your hostess for tonight. Do you guys know what you want already?" A suit-wearing blonde seemed to pop out of no where.

Nikki was the first to put down her menu. "I'll be having the jumbo sea scallops and colossal prawn with a lobster truffle risotto."

Kemp quickly put down his too. "Me too, because I'm your boyfriend."

Cam's eyes darted from Nikki to Kemp and then back to Nikki. "I'll have it too," he quickly said, looking up at Poppy. He just wanted to show Nikki that he liked her. I guess in the mind of boys, ordering the same thing for dinner showed that.

Claire stifled an angry huff and put her menu down too. "I'll have it too."

"Wow, this group sure does like seafood!" Poppy remarked cheerfully.

Massie was the first to break the trend. "I'll have the Belgium Endive."

Derrick almost told the hostess that he'd be having the same, but he quickly made a double-take. Was he seriously going to settle for a mere salad? He calculated in his head that since Massie ordered something less than ten dollars, he'd have enough money to order the braised beef short ribs—"And the warm crab salad with prosciutto and tomato," Massie finished, putting her menu down.

Derrick sighed, his shoulders slouching. "I'll have the penne pasta." Since that was the only thing he could actually afford now. Why couldn't he have made a bet with the boys beforehand? Why? Why? _Why?_

Alicia tapped her slender fingers against her right cheek. "I guess I'll the seared Foie Gras with dry figs and mussels with chorizo cream." She turned her head to whisper something to Massie. "_Mother always told me to order two sides. It's way less fattening._"

"I'll have the Roquefort-stuffed filet of beef," Josh told Poppy. He, unlike Derrick, had saved money for this night. He had always wanted to take Alicia out somewhere this fancy. It was something he knew that she deserved.

"Alright," Poppy exclaimed, taking away all the menus. "Anything to drink?"

"Perrier," Massie said. The other girls quickly followed in her example, except for Nikki who asked for a tall glass of pink lemonade. Claire started biting her fingernails nervously. She absolutely hated sparkling water. Why couldn't she be unafraid of what others thought about her like Nikki and just order a frosty glass of lemonade? She really did start to crave one.

The boys all ordered a can of coke except for Derrick who was absolutely broke. "Um, how much is the still water?"

The hostess scrunched her eyebrows. "We only have mineral water," she said proudly.

"Then, okay, I'll have the mineral water," Derrick shrugged. It was just water. How expensive could it be?

"What brand? We have 214 brands of mineral water imported from France. We have 18 Carats, Abatilles, Acqua Corsa, Activ, Adena, Aix les Bains—"

"I'll just have the first one," Derrick interrupted her. It was clear that this woman had all the mineral waters memorized—in _alphabetical_ order. Just the thought of all the hard work that must have been made Derrick shudder. Derrick sat up straighter in his seat. "Just wondering… how much is it?"

Massie gasped and slapped Derrick's shoulder. "You don't _ask_ that," Massie hissed.

"It's nine dollars a bottle." Poppy answered, completely ignoring Massie. Derrick gulped. How was he going to make nine extra dollars before the dinner ended?

"You know what?" Derrick shook his head. "I'll just have tap water. Like, from the sink?"

* * *

**A/N:** To be continued (: Now I have some practice SAT's to do and a family history paper to write!


	20. Let's Leave

**A/N:** i am SO sorry i haven't updated in forever. i swear over summer i'll update more :) this story's getting a bit long... i should end it soon. but don't worry. i'll be starting a new one ! any pairing suggestions ? i need a little break from nikkicam, as cute as they are. camalicia ? oliviacam ? cam as pimp daddy ? :D

* * *

**Westchester, NY**

**Le Grand Fromage**

**Friday, September 14****th**

**7:48 pm**

"So then I said, ehmagawd, no way, right? Because seriously, whoever thinks that blue can ever replace purple especially on someone with brown hair like me, is seriously delusional. And that's when I drew the line and told Binky to get me Jakkob because her lack of assistant-skills was totally making me sick," Massie rambled along in a hushed voice as the group waited for their dinners to come.

Massie was her normal self, not wasting a minute to indulge the others with what she considered juicy gossip and what others called _her life story_. Massie obviously felt no pressure on this date. She was barely talking to Derrick.

Alicia nodded along. "Given," she shrugged. "Why give you an assistant when you're Jakkob's star-customer?"

The two girls seemed to be absorbed in their own little conversation while their dates played with the straws sticking out of their Coca Cola cans. Claire kept on opening her mouth to speak but was always droned out by Massie or Alicia.

Nikki, on the other hand, was actually trying to get the boys to enjoy their date. This was a fancy restaurant after all! "So err, Derrick, how was soccer practice today?"

Derrick gave Nikki a blank look. "Soccer is on Tuesday, Thursday, and whenever coach feels the need to torture us. Got any other conversation starters?"

Cam cleared his throat and ruffled his dark hair. Kemp sat straighter in his seat and scooted forward. Since his "girlfriend" was making an effort, it seemed he had to too. "When's the food coming? I'm ravenous," he said, looking straight at Nikki as he rolled the "r."

Nikki inhaled quickly. _Oh boy_, she rolled her eyes as she made herself a mental note. _Never wear sundresses in front of boys. They get weird fantasies about frolicking with you in meadows full of daisies or worse… ROSE PETALS._

"Ravenous," Nikki slowly laughed nervously. She backed away a bit from Kemp, scared that he might lunge at her. "What a good way to use vocabulary."

Finally the complimentary appetizer came. Three huge wedges of gourmet cheese were placed on a wooden cutting board and whole-grain crackers on a huge platter were placed next to it.

"Cammy!" Claire squealed, reaching across her place setting to get to a cracker and smothered the Ciel de Charleviox blue cheese on it. She placed it on Cam's plate and grinned. "Eat, you look so _hungry_," she batted her white-blonde eyelashes in what she thought was a seductive way.

Nikki blinked back a giggle of laughter. That was until Cam took the cracker and put it back on Claire's plate. "As a girlfriend, I mean, second-time girlfriend, I expect you to know that I _hate_ blue cheese ever since that incident I told you about."

"Oh," Claire clenched her mouth shut and went back to nursing her cracker which was totally cheese-free. She didn't know a thing about gourmet cheese. She lived on Kraft and string cheese.

"I need some air," Cam cleared his throat and pushed back his chair. He walked straight out of the dining room without looking back.

Claire bit back a whimper. She turned to Nikki and whispered for the whole table to hear. "You think he's mad at me? Because I forgot that he didn't like blue cheese?"

Nikki grimaced. What was she supposed to say? She looked at Massie.

Massie could tell that Nikki had nothing to say. And she was the leader of the clique, after all. Her job was to keep them together and looking shame-free. "Kuh-laire, don't be stupid. Didn't you just hear him? He needs air."

"_Cause someone was suffocating him_," Nikki heard Josh mumble under his breath—which made Nikki realize that maybe the kid had some personality other than being the only guy to really be obsessed with a designer brand.

The whole table stared at each other blankly. What was there to say? They were just a random group thrown together. The only real happy couple was Alicia and Josh. And the only reason why they were happy was because they were practically twins.

"Gay baby," Derrick burped, trying to get rid of the silence. Massie glared at him through her amber eyes. It was a wonder how he burped by just drinking tap water from a champagne glass.

"Speaking of gay babies," Kemp said, leaning more towards Nikki by propping his right arm on the table and giving her a long look. "How are you, my Nikki-baby?"

"Isn't it a bit late for asking how I am?" Nikki answered back hesitantly.

Massie sighed loudly at how stupid this date was turning out to be. "Can we ditch this place and just go to watch a movie already?"

Movies? In the dark? In close proximity with the date that almost no one wanted to be near? "NO!" The table quickly answered back.

Massie sank back in her chair in defeat.

"I need air too," Nikki fanned her face, scooting her chair back and exiting the same way Cam did.

————————- ————————-

"Hey," Nikki whispered, afraid she might scare the guy.

Cam turned around. His dark hair looked even darker in the dark. (Well, duh.) "Hey, what are you doing out here? Did the food come?" He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "This is stupid, you know? I didn't know that Claire would be so openly…"

"Trying to seduce you?" Nikki offered.

"Yes, exactly that," Cam shook his head. "It's so awkward. And the thing is, I don't even like her and—"

Nikki shook her head to try to un-confuse herself. "Wait, what'd you say?"

"I thought you knew," Cam's eyes widened. "Wasn't it obvious? When it took so long for you to convince me to ask her out?"

"Well, not really," Nikki huffed. "You still did it. And that's all that matters. Shouldn't you go back inside? Claire looked pretty rejected when you went outside." Nikki involuntarily shivered. She had forgotten her jacket back inside in a rush of hurry to get out of there.

Cam looked at her and instantly softened. He took off his jacket and placed it around Nikki's shoulders.

"Massie suggested we just ditch the dinner and go to the movie," Nikki said, having nothing else to say. She traced hearts with her shoes on the concrete.

"And?" Cam waited.

"And everyone said no. Because I don't think anyone is really happy with their date. Other than Alicia and Josh. But who wants to watch them cuddle?" Nikki rolled her eyes. "This is turning out to be a failure."

"Hey," Cam thought for a minute. "Want to leave?"

"Right now?" Nikki looked at him incredulously. He had a date. She had a date. They _weren't_ each other's dates. And he wanted to leave with her? Didn't that sound totally out of a romance movie?

But did she really want to go back in there? And face how awkward it was? Or did she want to go to a movie or just hang out with Cam? Was she really that over him?

Nikki took out her cell phone and began speed texting to Kemp.

**Nikki: **I don't feel so good. ): Can you get my jacket and bring it to school on Monday? Thanks, you're a sweetie. (:

"Ready?" Nikki asked after she stuffed her phone back into her pocket.

"Was I ever not?" Cam grinned.


End file.
